The Guardians Paperback Collection (Jack Frost poster inside!) (Boxed Set): Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King; E. Aster ... The Sandman and the War of Dreams; Jack Frost

The Guardians #1-5

by William Joyce

Santa Claus. Easter Bunny. Tooth Fairy. Sandman. Jack Frost. You know their names, but find out where they came from—and what evil-doer brought them together—in this complete paperback collection of the Guardians of Childhood books.

A daredevil swordsman. A chocolate-obsessed genius. A fierce and feisty queen. A strong, if sleepy, star captain. A rebel with a cause.

These are the Guardians of Childhood—though now they’re better known by their Earthly personas: Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost. But before the Earth holidays, before the glitz and glamor, before you knew their names, they were warriors. But when faced with an ancient villain, can good truly conquer evil?

This paperback boxed set includes:
Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King
E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth’s Core!
Toothiana, Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies
The Sandman and the War of Dreams
Jack Frost

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Middle Grade

1456 pages, Paperback

Published September 29, 2020

About the author

William Joyce does a lot of stuff—films, apps, Olympic curling—but children’s books are his true bailiwick (The Numberlys, The Man in the Moon, Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, Toothiana, and the #1 New York Times bestselling The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which is also an Academy Award–winning short film, to name a few). He lives with his family in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Reviews

[David Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is based of my daughter's reactions to these books as we read them. The first 3 had her glued to the story. The last 2, especially the Jack Frost one, resulted in a lot of fidgeting and ignoring the story as it was read. Finally she gave up on Jack Frost after too many tangents from the main story. Personally, there is a lot of fun elements to these books but they do get a bit long-winded as they progress.

[Svenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was quite surprising for me how different the storyline is, compared to the movie. I try to think of these as two different universes. But it was an interesting adventure with an interesting world- and character building.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

First 3 are fantastic, kinda gets odd towards the end

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Tommy’s favorite series! It was good to read together.

[Rachel Vanover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written like a dream or a fairy tale!

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read every book with my young daughters (8 and 6)....LOVED THEM.

[M E Falcon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect

[Regina Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for everyone—kids, parents, and beyond! I know many people discovered these books because of Rise of the Guardians, but honestly, these books are pure art. In my opinion, they deserve a place alongside The Little Prince. There’s something to take away from them at any age, and the central theme—the idea of being guardians of childhood—is so precious and essential. We were all children once, and all we need to do is remember! We need to cultivate empathy for the children around us, helping, guarding, and guiding them to make their paths clearer and lighter.

For me, having recently become an aunt and having worked in a kindergarten for a while, I’ve seen firsthand that the innocence and genuine love of children are among life’s greatest treasures. Absolutely loved, loved, loved these books!

[Squirrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series isn't one you need to go on a long rant about at all, and has many good qualities, despite pacing needing more work, especially in the last book, which has one very long chapter in the middle for no reason, and changes perspective, as well as jumps through/goes back in time too much.

(There are also many information dumps that might be better integrated into the narrative, as well as condensed, though the author may have been attached to the illustrations which made them harder to change.)

Despite this, the series is refreshingly epic compared to other recent fantasy books. This is because the books portray Pitch as truly evil, so that the story's more archetypical, as he's representing satan. There is violence, and more excitement as a result. I appreciate this; it really can't be taken for granted when it stands out from other series that never have real threat.

Because of this, I think the more artful choice may have been if, in the end, Pitch really was killed, rather than turning good, which seemed a little contrived at the last second. However, he still is 'defeated', so it's still more satisfying than some recent fantasy.

I liked North best, and the part he fought the bear. But I think Jack Frost could have been just a bit less of a Gary Stu.

Edit:
I think the best way to read these books would be if you read them to your kids before bed, but you skipped to the interesting parts/illustrations that they liked the best. Sadly as a straightforward story, I have seen kids lose patience for this series, since it is essentially a collection of ideas rather than a captivating story. Because of this, some good ideas the author had may never be arrived at. (But some kids may prefer some concepts, such as flying monkeys over moon mice, or lunar llamas over mermaids. They could pick out which illustration looks most interesting to them). Similar to the Wizard of Oz books, it doesn't hurt to skip parts to get to parts kids appreciate the most, opposed to never landing on them at all because patience is used up. When ideas are the strongest part of a book, I don't mind reading them this way, as small stories out of order. It can be more enjoyable/memorable for kids that way.)