Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King

Written by William Joyce and Laura Geringer

Narrated by Gerard Doyle

Forget naughty or nice—this is a battle of good vs. evil.

Discover the origins of St. Nick and follow along as the Guardians start their quest to rid the world of nightmares in the first Guardians chapter book from Academy Award winner William Joyce that inspired the beloved film, The Rise of the Guardians.

Before SANTA was SANTA, he was North, Nicholas St. North—a daredevil swordsman whose prowess with double scimitars was legendary. Like any swashbuckling young warrior, North seeks treasure and adventure, leading him to the fiercely guarded village of Santoff Claussen, said to be home to the greatest treasure in all the East, and to an even greater wizard, Ombric Shalazar. But when North arrives, legends of riches have given way to terrors of epic proportions! North must decide whether to seek his fortune…or save the village.

When our rebellious hero gets sucked into the chaos (literally), the fight becomes very personal. The Nightmare King and his evil Fearlings are ruling the night, owning the shadows, and sending waves of fear through all of Santoff Clausen. For North, this is a battle worth fighting…and, he’s not alone. There are five other Guardians out there. He only has to find them in time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Oct 4, 2011
• ISBN: 9781442348011

William Joyce

William Joyce does a lot of stuff but children’s books are his true bailiwick (The Guardians series, Dinosaur Bob series, George Shrinks, and the #1 New York Times bestselling The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which is also his Academy Award–winning short film, to name a few). He lives in Shreveport, Louisiana. Talk to William Joyce and see upcoming work on Instagram.

Reviews for Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King

[Amber · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was such a good middle grade fantasy. I really enjoyed the story. It was so imaginative and creative. I will definitely continue the series.

[aethercowboy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Guardians of Childhood, soon to be a “major motion picture” has been a book series that has intrigued me every time I walked past it in the Children’s section of the bookstore. It wasn’t until my family was looking for more books to read (to better encourage a lifetime love of reading in our newest member) that we finally picked them up.My initial thought was: this is an origin story of Santa Claus. I was skeptical, I admit, thinking of the countless Rankin & Bass Santa origin stories. Yet, at the same time, I was intrigued. This Santa held a sword, and had an army of Yetis behind him. This Santa was not one you’d like to tangle with.And a reading of the book made this clear. While the more Santa-esque character was not St. North in this volume, you see the trappings of the “jolly old elf” begin to manifest themselves in a Russian swordsman thief who apprentices himself under a great wizard, eventually developing a hankering for mechanical devices imbued with a dash of sorcery. This man, while not your typical impression of Santa Claus, has the foundation to be an imaginative toymaker.All this happens while the evil Pitch, the Nightmare King, reawakens (from events that transpired in Joyce’s picture book The Man in the Moon). St. North and his ilk find themselves battling this former man who delights in giving children nightmares, and for destroying all that is good and noble that generally stands in his way.If you did read the precursor picture book, you’d appreciate the piecing together of the two puzzles to get a more complete picture answering some questions that arose from reading The Man in the Moon, as well as some questions that arose from reading Nicholas St. North. Delightfully, to get you to keep reading, even more pieces of puzzles are scattered throughout, including the destiny of a young orphan named Katherine, who has an affinity for recording St. North’s outlandish stories.As I’ve said before, while what Joyce is doing, on the surface, is not original, at its core, it is one of the more original things I’ve read from the Children’s aisle. I recommend this if you’re looking for something for that independent reader (or to read to that not-so-independent reader), or even for yourself. Who says that we adults can’t enjoy a book written for children every now and again?

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.Not since "The Spiderwick Chronicles" have I read a children's fantasy aimed at the 7-11 crowd that is so engaging, quality literature with awesome illustrations to bring the story to life. This book is not genre specific as it mixes fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, and fairytale retelling all together until one can't really categorize it. It takes place on our Earth and yet includes creatures from Atlantis and the Moon. As I was reading I often had a feeling of L. Frank Baum's writing style; the book looks and has a voice similar to a 19th/early 20th century children's fantasy, chapters have titles such as " In Which a Twist of Fate Begets a Knot in the Plan" and "Where the Impossible Occurs with Surprising Regularity".The text is large and double-spaced with frequent illustrations so is much shorter than the page numbers would indicate and this does make character development suffer. One never really gets a full sense or deep caring for the characters but I did find the little girl Katharine to be the most fleshed out character and the one I cared for the most. The book ends with the story arc being concluded and yet the overarching story of the series has only just begun, thus it very much has a first in a series feel.However, to clear a little confusion. This is not the first book in the series, even though it is called Book 1. This is a direct sequel to "The Man in the Moon" which is confusingly listed as "The Guardians of Childhood, Book 1". The Man in the Moon is a picture book but characters and events from the book are present and crucial to the story in "Nicholas St. North", so do read it first. Those over 11 may find the book lacking in depth, plot development and characterization as this is not a heavy or detailed read. What it is though, is a fun, whimsical, outlandish fantasy crossed with other genres written to especially appeal to the 7-11 age group and those adults willing to be a kid again. I'm impressed and eager for the next book which will feature the Easter Bunny (excuse me, E. Aster Bunnymund).