Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare

William Joyce, Laura Geringer, William Joyce

• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Year: 2011
• eBook ISBN:
  9781442435759
• Print ISBN:
  9781442430495

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.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Chapter One: In Which the Great War Is Renewed
• Chapter Two: Wherein Speaking Insect Languages Proves to Be of Value
• Chapter Three: A Terrifying Walk in the Woods
• Chapter Four: Out of the Shadows Come Deeper Mysteries
• Chapter Five: The Golden Age
• Chapter Six: Nicholas St. North (A Most Unlikely Source of Help)
• Chapter Seven: Is Not Really a Chapter at All—Just a Piece of the Greater Puzzle
• Chapter Eight: Where the Impossible Occurs with Surprising Regularity
• Chapter Nine: The Battle of the Bear
• Chapter Ten: In Which a Great Many Things Occur Swiftly
• Chapter Eleven: In Which Wisdom Is Proven to Be a Tricky Customer Indeed
• Chapter Twelve: Another Short but Intriguing Episode
• Chapter Thirteen: The Warrior Apprentice Proves to Be Clever
• Chapter Fourteen: Wherein Wizard and Apprentice Make Discoveries That Prove to Be Momentous
• Chapter Fifteen: Partly Cloudy and Most Unfair
• Chapter Sixteen: Anger, Age, and Fear Make an Unwanted Appearance
• Chapter Seventeen: A Twist and Turn
• Chapter Eighteen: Sly Is the Evil That Travels Unknown
• Chapter Nineteen: The Telltale Hoot
• Chapter Twenty: In Which a Twist of Fate Begets a Knot in the Plan
• Chapter Twenty-One: Laughter Is a Bitter Pill
• Chapter Twenty-Two: The Oddest Reunion
• Chapter Twenty-Three: The Longest Night
• Chapter Twenty-Four: The Journey’s End
• About William Joyce and Laura Geringer
• Copyright