Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story

Nicholas #1

by Anne Carroll Moore, Jay Van Everen (Illustrator)

Brought over by boat from Holland to Manhattan Island, New York, eight-inch-tall Nicholas tours the city with his friend Ann Caraway, seeing an astonishing variety of sights and meeting a wide array of people and enchanted creatures as Christmas time approaches.

Genres: Christmas, New York, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Juvenile

331 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1924

About the author

Anne Carroll Moore (July 12, 1871 – January 20, 1961) was an American educator, writer and advocate for children's libraries.
Wikipedia

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of two Newbery Honor books selected in 1925 - along with Anne and Dillwn Parrish's The Dream Coach - this holiday fantasy was penned by one of the most influential children's librarians of the early twentieth century, giving it added appeal to those with an interest in the history of children's literature. Despite that fact, and its status as a Newbery title, I found Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story an oddly off-putting little book, and probably would have awarded it only one star, were it not for the enjoyment I derived from spotting the many children's literature references inserted by the author.

The story of a little Dutch boy named Nicholas - eight inches high, and apparently based upon a wooden doll of the same name, that Moore used in her storytelling sessions - who appears at the Children's Room of the New York Public Library one Christmas Eve night, and is immediately swept up in a series of magical holiday observances, this had a distinctly dated feel to it. It isn't just that the New York City depicted by Moore is long gone - some of the streets and landmarks are the same, but others are long-since vanished - although that's part of it, but also that the author references (then) current events in a rather oblique way, assuming her readers will understand what she is talking about. The then recent war (WWI), and its aftermath in Europe, are clearly meant to be a very meaningful backdrop to Nicholas' visit, and perhaps to the reader of the day they were, but the contemporary child would need a little background - she wouldn't just automatically understand the emotional significance of Nicholas' helmet (that of a French "poilu"), or the seemingly stray references to the children of France or the Netherlands.

In much the same way, it is soon apparent that the author expects her readers to recognize (and sympathize with) her characters, despite popping them into the narrative almost at random, without taking the trouble to really introduce them. In an amusing example of what we would today describe as a "Mary Sue," the character of Ann Caraway is meant to be Anne Carroll Moore herself - making the praises heaped upon her in the narrative especially noteworthy - but we never really get a sense of who she is, or how she fits into the story. Why is she so closely associated with everyone else that Nicholas encounters? This sense of randomness extends to the events of the story as well, as Exciting! and Magical! occurrences pile up, one upon the other, almost like a laundrey list of happenings. There is no time to really appreciate or feel the "magic" with which the reader is constantly inundated.

Despite these flaws - and they are not inconsiderable - there were things I enjoyed about Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story - from the many references to the world of children's literature, both classic and (then) contemporary, to the evident admiration the author expresses, through her characters, for figures such as Washington Irving and George Washington. The children's literature references begin almost at once, with the Brownie's description of the guest-list for her party, and continue throughout. Alice (of Wonderland fame), Pinocchio, Hansel and Grethel, and Sindbad are just some of the classic character mentioned, while authors such as Kate Douglas Wiggin and Charles Dickens also appear. Far more interesting, however, are the references to the then contemporary world of children's books, from a throwaway line concerning Hugh Lofting's "pushmi-pullyus," to a mention of "Perez the mouse!" My first thought, when I saw the latter, was of Pura Belpré's Perez and Martina , but that wasn't published until 1932, so Moore must be thinking of Luis Coloma's 1914 work.

Picking these references out was quite fun, making what would have otherwise been a somewhat tedious narrative far more enjoyable. The other source of pleasure, already mentioned, is the evident admiration felt for the figures of Washington Irving - whose New York tales, and the characters thereto, are everywhere to be seen in the story - and George Washington. The latter, in particular, is hero-worshiped by all, and while I can't say I'm much for hero-worship of any kind, there was something appealing about the innocence of it all. As another reviewer has noted, you don't see that in very many children's books today.

In sum: while this isn't one I would recommend to the casual reader, I think that scholars with an interest in the history of children's literature and librarianship will get a lot out of it, and I recommend it to them. An odd mix... I'm almost tempted to read the sequel, Nicholas and the Golden Goose...

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually finished this book about a month ago and just barely realized I never wrote a review. Which means all the truly "great" thoughts I had have now flown away.

This book wasn't the worst to read, but it was absolutely nonsensical, to an absurd, painful degree. Basically this 8-inch boy from Holland who comes to New York for Christmas. Everyone is SUPER excited to see him.



They meet all these people, real and fantastic, and they all know Nicholas and they're all thrilled to meet him and take him around the city. There was no cohesion to the story, they'd just meet someone new and head to some different place.

But honestly, the worst part was that he was EIGHT. INCHES. TALL. He was doing things that someone who was 8-inches tall could not do at all, but that didn't seem to matter. At one point, he was holding hands with an adult. Just put that image in your mind - an adult holding hands with someone that is 8 inches tall. It hurt my brain.

I read more about this author. Apparently she was some bigwig at the NYC library and was the first librarian to really create a children's library. Cool. I'm down with that. On the other hand, she was sort of a self-righteous prig. She would use this big stamp and any book that didn't pass her standards would get this stamp of disapproval.

Now we get to the real point, she had a wooden puppet, doll, thing named Nicholas that she would use in library talks. She would even write notes to people and sign them "Nicholas." One day she accidentally left him behind in a taxi and apparently her coworkers were quite pleased.

So she writes this crazy story about her doll Nicholas and she puts herself into the story. I can't remember what name she used now, but knowing all that, this book came across as some creepy fanfiction about her puppet.

I was happy to get through this one. I'm pretty sure I would've greatly disliked this author if I met her in person, but I am grateful to her for helping make libraries a place for children.

[Thomas Bell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have a goal to read every Newbery Award and Honor book - and a year from now there will likely be 400 or more of them. Well, just like the guy who wants to try a delicacy from every culture in the world, he gets a lot of wonderful foods but sometimes just has to plug his nose and swallow. Well, I'm glad I've finished swallowing this book, because it was awful.

I agree with every comment I've read on this book. Why does everyone want to throw Nicholas a party? Why does the theater wait until Nicholas arrives to start? Why does Nicholas have to call the troll 'Old Giant' EVERY SINGLE TIME he says anything to him? Why does no one ever call anyone by their first name only? Oh, man I just wanted someone to accidentally throw Nicholas out in the ocean or on a fire or let him freeze in the snow or something, but since this book is a mixture of Nicholas worship with NYC worship, I figured it wasn't going to happen.

This is one of the worst books I have ever read. If you are like me and have the goal to read all of these books, then you have my sympathies. If you are a normal sane human being who is looking for entertainment or enlightenment or SOMETHING, stay far away from this.

The only good thing about this book is that it is very hard to find. However, it is selling for only about $35 on Amazon, which is a lot less than most 90 year old award winning books which are out of print.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Admission: I only skimmed this , but I read enough outright to state that ideas in this book had great potential. Premise: a very small boy (12-14 inches) named Nicholas travels (why?) from Holland to NYC arriving on Xmas Eve, a time more magical than others - but then this NYC is more magical than most. He hooks up with a couple of people who take him around the city as they finish their shopping - this is in essence a tour book to buildings, monuments, and all sorts of small shops existing there in the 1920s. If this had been done well it could have been fascinating, but names are just thrown out randomly with so little description it's impossible to follow. A bit I liked was Nicholas encounter with a traffic policeman using green and red flashlights. This is the book's top layer; the under layer is where the potential great bits were. In his travels, Nicholas meets up with, brownies, fairies, trolls, etc. as well as embodiments of particular places and deceased historical figures. Then there was a massive party at the NY Public Library (complete with roaring lions!) in which characters and authors step out of books to take part But the author does almost nothing with these ideas - other than have Washington Irving act as Nicholas' tour guide for a bit. I read this for my 2017 Reading Challenge and my Newbery Challenge (Honor Book 1925).

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only finished this book because I am trying to read all of the Newbery Honor books. Otherwise, I would have quit early on. The main character is never explained. Why do we have an 8-inch-tall Dutch boy visiting New York? And why does everyone know all about and adore him? Apparently he is based on Ms. Moore's story time doll/puppet, but since that is never explained, the story has even less meaning. Basically, Nicholas is introduced to literary characters in the public library, and statues in Manhattan, and told all about General Washington as he tours the city. However, that makes it sound more interesting than it is. I couldn't find any purpose or theme, except that in each chapter Nicholas visits someone. Oh goodie. He also spends the majority of his time "yelling" or "crying" out his answers and somehow manages to walk everywhere with normal sized humans while holding their hands. I found him annoying. I also had no idea why a 21-year-old young man was one of his two main companions. Nicholas had a few good moments, but I definitely understand why it is out of print. Very few people will live through the story unless it is an assignment.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw a headline recently, "Children's Books Have Lost the Plot." I would dearly love for all those who like to complain about the current state of Children's literature to read all of these early Newbery books. This one is terrible. It's not even coherent enough to be episodic. It was written by the woman who was the children's librarian at the New York Public library for closer to forty years, and it is her attempt to teach everything she thinks children should know about the library and New York history, loosely tied together by a random and boring story. The explanations and stories that would be interesting and make everything else make sense, she skips in order to do another list of names. I don't know if the committee thought this was what children should be reading it if they just wanted to honor Moore, but this is not a book that has at all stood the test of time.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is way longer than it needs to be. I read this article about Anne Carroll Moore and E.B. White that explains her reign as Children's Librarian and how she tried to keep Stuart Little out of her library. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

Why do I get the feeling that the Newbery Committee was sucking up to the librarian with all the pull? And why do I find it ironic that Moore said realism and fantasy should not be mixed, yet her book is JUST fairies/brownies/trolls/magic talking dolls running around 1920's New York City?

The ups and downs of being a Newbery completist. Sometimes you find gems in the older books (Blue Cat of Castletown). Sometimes you have to slog through dreck like this.

[Carol Palmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I was a young child living in Manhattan in 1925, I might have enjoyed having someone read this book to me during the Christmas holidays. However, if I lived ANYWHERE else or at ANY time after about 1940, I doubt that I would have enjoyed it at all. There is an attempt to make Christmas feel magical and sparkly and special, but it goes on and on and on for about 200 pages too long.

I did enjoy the many references to other books and characters while they were partying in the library. And I felt a certain amount of nostalgia when certain now defunct New York City landmarks of its day were described. But overall, this book does not hold up well in our modern times.

The best I can say is that this is one more Newbery Honor book completed in my quest to read all Newbery Honor books and winners.

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story is, in every way I can see, an unusual book.

The main character Nicholas, who is only eight inches tall, is brought over to New York on a boat from Dutch country and immediately finds himself an assortment of friends and boon companions that is as varied and interesting as is the population of Manhattan. Most of the rest of the book plays out like an extended guided tour of New York City and its surrounding areas, with new friends added for Nicholas—sometimes human and sometimes seemingly not—at all of the unique venues that he visits.

To me, two things about this book stand out as being especially good. The first one is the Christmas party that occurs at the children's library early in the plot, a party that is visited by many famous children's book authors (Mary Mapes Dodge, Charles Dickens and Kate Douglas Wiggin, to give a few examples) and famous characters (including the fabled "Pushmi-Pullyu" of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle fame. It's interesting to note that the first Doctor Dolittle story had only been in print a few years when Nicholas was initially written.) I especially liked the inclusion of Kate Douglas Wiggin in the Christmas party, since about twenty-five years before the creation of Nicholas she had authored perhaps the finest children's Christmas book of them all, The Birds' Christmas Carol.

The second thing that stood out to me positively in this book is the reverence with which Nicholas and his friends view George Washington, and how enthusiastically they celebrate his birthday anniversary. Their emotional remembrances about just how wonderful The Father of Our Country is lead to some of the more tender scenes in the book. I can't really see a scene like the Washington's Birthday scenes in Nicholas being written in a children's book nowadays, which is unfortunate because it was probably my favorite part of Nicholas. There are some things that one just doesn't get from contemporary literature.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

A live Dutch doll about eight inches tall, named Nicholas, visits a fantasyfied New York City to see the sights.

This book could have been so, so, so good. I love "virtual tour" stories about places I've never been; if this had been a good example of that genre, I would've had no complaints.

Sadly, it's not an example of the genre at all. It belongs to the very close but distinct genre of "tour guide disguised as fiction" - landmarks aren't clearly described, just mentioned offhand, with very specific directions as to finding them "on the ground", and it's really hard to stay interested in the storyline when whole chapters consist of "they went to this really awesome little place! and this one! and this one!" with no atmosphere to give a sense of the places. It's really clearly aimed at kids who live in 1920s New York and have the ability to follow in Nicholas's sightseeing footsteps.

WHICH IS SAD. A book that did give the atmosphere of these little hole-in-the-wall shops and big department stores would be an invaluable time-capsule story for its era! There are tiny hints of time-capsule things anyway, like the NYC-dwellers counting time by the flashes of the (then brand-new) stoplight at Forty-Second and Fifth - but just not enough. :-(

I'd rate this book much higher compared to the other Newberys of the time (most of which were virulently racist), but it was clearly never intended to go beyond its own place and time, and therefore I don't think it should have made the Newbery Honor list. (Of course, in 1925, nobody knew how prestigious the Newberys would become.)

[Linds · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yaaaawn. This was soooo hard to read. Eight-inch Nicholas is traveling around NYC meeting storybook/mythical people, seeing the sites, and attending parties from Christmas time through Valentine’s (don’t forget George Washington’s birthday, either!). However the narration was done, I could not get involved. I could not care about Nicholas’s travels, even though I think the base idea is decent. (It could be like telling kids who don’t get to travel much about the wonders of New York through the aid fairytale characters, right? That’s just not what I got.) It felt like the boring things were narrated. The boring dialogue was used. I didn’t get any kind of info or charm or storyline out of it, and I really wanted to.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was interesting to read just because it was so old. It made me think that 100 years ago some authors did not think that children could handle character development (because there was none). The book didn't really make sense, but with so little children's lit at the time, I can see why it won an award.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with the reviewer who said it seemed like a New York travel guide. It's somewhat interesting, but the story does not flow well. In fact, I'm not really sure what the story was about after reading 75 pages. Maybe it would be better reading at Christmas time, but I really don't think so.

[Kirsten Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

In my Newbery book reading journey so far, I've noticed many early winners and honor books score low reviews from modern readers. I've found some to be delightful myself...but this is one where I'll have to agree with the vast majority of modern reviewers who find it to be a title that is rather odd and hasn't aged very well.

Nicholas is an 8 inch tall Dutch boy who has come to spend Christmas in New York City. The setting is presumably contemporary to the writing of the book, though this isn't explicitly mentioned.
From regular human friends (who, perhaps tastefully, never remark on Nicholas' unusual size), to magical creatures like a brownie and a troll, everyone wants to give Nicholas a good time in the city by showing him around, helping him experience Christmas in the city, and by throwing him a big party at the New York Public Library.

I spent the first hour or two of listening to the new Librivox audio recording of the story thinking, "this is weird but kind of charming." I enjoyed the descriptions of New York city in the early 20th century, and the visit to a Christmas Eve church service.

Soon the scene moves to a rather tedious description of magical creatures and fictional characters preparing the library for Nicholas' party (discussing who should be in what room and the like), followed by the party itself, which is attended by the aforementioned magical creatures and characters, as well as several famous authors (all or most of whom would not have been living at the time of the story, like Charles Dickens and Washington Irving...so it their ghosts? Or just more magical suspension of disbelief?).

After Nicholas and friends spend a nice Christmas Day in the city, I thought that surely the book must be coming to a close...but no...Nicholas will be staying a while longer! He travels to visit friends in Maine, takes a ride in something called the Mysterious Taxi, watches an interesting performance for Valentines Day (involving toys that apparently come to life), celebrates Washington's Birthday while learning about the famous general, and has a special visit to the circus, before finally leaving for home.

I think had this book just been a charming short story about a boy seeing Manhattan on Christmas eve, it would have been delightful. Even the party in the library was probably a bit more interesting to readers of the time (I kept thinking I was maybe missing some references to things that would have been more obvious to people who knew about popular books at the time). But as the story dragged on, and everywhere Nicholas goes people want to throw him a party or make him the center of attention, and he keeps meeting new friends while old ones never reappear (he does have one friend, Anne Caraway, who stays with him for most of the book)...it just got a bit tedious.

Knowing a bit about the author gives this book just a little context. Anne Carroll Moore was a librarian for the New York Public Library in the early 20th century who was instrumental in bringing children's books into the library. For several decades she was incredibly influential in the world of children's books, and her reviews could often spell success or failure of a new book. And - she owned and apparently often carried with her a small puppet named Nicholas. It's almost like her book is the outworking of her wildest imaginations of what would happen if her puppet was a real boy who could interact with her favorite book characters. 😁 I wonder if the Newbery committee picked this as an honor book because of Anne Carroll Moore's influence among librarians and authors, rather than because of the quality of the book.

I'd rate this book 2.5 stars. It's not a completely terrible book, but I don't think I would have finished it after the Christmas party chapter if I were not reading all the Newbery books.

Content considerations: Multiple mentions of smoking. Some dated racial language such as "colored" and "chinamen".

[Shella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading some of the 1920's Newbery winner and honor titles have been painful. Reading this was like getting a giant needle shoved in your arm. I gave 2 rather than 1 star because it had some potential. The idea of story characters interacting with each other and the setting of Christmas in New York- I thought this was going to be a warm fuzzy read. Wrong- who is Nicholas and why is he there? Why is everyone so enthralled with him? He is tiny? Do we know this only from the pictures? There is no backstory in this 300+ story. This builds up to this ultimate party that falls flat. It is a Christmas story but one-third of it takes place February to Easter? The main characters just all of a sudden set sail to France? I felt like the character and premise were barely introduced (I read the opening twice) then it feels like the character jumps on a conveyor belt and other characters are just name dropping and pointing to places in NYC. It seems to have no character development or story sense. It is like reading a sanitized Shrek movie with all the fantastical characters. I have never said this- but this would be a better movie than a book because the writing puts no visualization in your head. Perhaps you need to be a New Yorker to appreciate it since the reader has to fill in the gaps. Probably New Yorkers in the mid 1920s enjoyed this as a read aloud? Unless you want to be miserable- skip this title. There is a reason this title did not become a classic. Reading this title helps solidify my decision to only read at least one Newbery honor book per year. I am stopping at reading all of them for the year at 1970. There are just too many great titles that I am missing out on to keep going on this quest. So now the 1920's are done for this reader. I've read all the 1920s Newbery winners and one honor book for each year (1922 and 1929 are the only years that had a few honor titles). If you just want a taste of this decade, I would recommend The Windy Hill and Millions of Cats for honors. Gay Neck and Trumpeter were winners in the later part of the decade and at least had some interesting history and descriptions. If there are any other must reads for 1920's Newbery - please comment.

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one felt like a travel brochure for New York City at the beginning of the 20th century. Plus, I could not get over the idea of an 8-inch boy from Holland, whose size or appearance were not noticed much at all. Very strange. I was constantly distracted by the usage of both first name and surname when referring to all of the characters, but Nicholas; Ann Caraway, Molly Gardiner, Joe Star, names all repeated much too often. This is a definite read one time only and I am relieved to have completed it.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I thought this was charming. There is a simple enthusiasm that just made it a happy book to read. I loved all the references to all of the literary and historical figures and the cameos by several authors. It isn't quite clear why everybody knows who Nicholas is (and it's not St. Nicholas). According to several reviews, the author (who was a librarian) had a small wooden doll named Nicholas that she used during storytimes, so that makes his size (only 8 inches) make more sense.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh I so wanted to love this book! But it's essentially just a list of places they go in NYC. Not much of a story at all.

[Desiree']

1925 Newbery honor book

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nicholas comes to America. Brownie is having a Christmas Eve party in a library and tells Nicholas to be back before midnight. They go to Lucky's, where they meet Ann Caraway and John Moon. They go looking for Christmas gifts, and wind up at Old Trinity Church. John Moon relates the story of Olaffe discovery the island of Manhattan. Nicholas meets Joe Starr and hear the Night Before Christmas. Brownie has a big party with lots of literary figures. Nicholas opens his Christmas presents the next day. Then he goes to the park with the Troll. The friends go to see a show, and Nicholas goes to Maine for New Year's, where he meets Ben. Nicholas and Ann Caraway go to another show, and the Troll plans a dinner an ride for everyone after the show. They learn about George Washington and Alexander Hamilton on George Washington's birthday, and they go to the circus. Finally, Ann Caraway sails back with Nicholas.

I didn't particularly like this book because there was a lot of dialogue that didn't seem to matter, and the events in the story also didn't seem to carry much weight. I did enjoy the historical stories that were related in the story, though.

[Lynette Caulkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't look for an overarching plot here, nor for any character development. This is going to be boring and disjointed for anyone older than 10 if that's your expectation.

As a peek into 1920s travelogue stories, though, it's fun! Very interesting to catch glimpses of New York City and nearby areas (or a further jaunt to Maine), as well as social interactions, in the early 20th century. You also get bits of U.S. history thrown in.

Young children would probably love having this book read to them, with all its fantasy characters and prominence of young character dialogue.

If you're another Newbery completist, you may want to wait to check this one off: Word is, LibriVox is about to start production on a full-cast audiobook edition (and those are always free). That ought to raise the enjoyment factor a good bit.

[Damaris]

Newbery Honor Book 1925