  "To
mysterio tou kalokerinou agiovasili"
(The Mystery of the Summertime Santa Claus)
Patakis, 2000, 6th edition 2009, 7th edition 2015. 136 pp.
Illustrator:
Leda Varvarousi
ISBN:
960-378-817-1
Summary:
Late in June, 5-year-old Nefeli, insists that she
saw Santa Klaus passing by her house, in red summer clothes,
carrying toys! Nobody believes her. Some members of the
family make fun of her, others scorn her, and granny tries
to bring her to her senses. Then, one day the summer Santa
Klaus appears again, but disappears immediately after,
this time holding by hand Fangiskos, Nefeli's little cousin.
Everybody gets upset and the family passes hours of terrible
anxiety. But when the mystery is solved, everybody believes
Nefeli and experiences a peculiar summer New Year's festivity
in the neighbourhood, organized for all children of the
world - especially those of refugees and immigrants.
|
Reviews:
"...under the pretext of Summer Santa Claus' mystery,
the well-known author Loty Petrovits-Andrutsopulou writes
about Christmas from another point of view, referring
to the issue of refugees. A well-timed book that is
ingeniously written."
B.D. Anagnostopoulos, PROINOS TYPOS (MORNING PRESS)
Karditsa - 23 December 2000
"...it rises warmth, humanity and trueness; it
links everyday scenes to contemporary problems such
as people's expatriation, racism, coexistence. We need
such books for today's kids, because, although they
care about the environment and love the animals - and
of course, this is the right thing to do - they sometimes
forget people next-door. I really liked the coexistence
of different generations as well as the unconstrained
unfolding of the story."
Alexandra Zervou, Professor at the University of Aegean
"... Through the pages in this novel runs a magic
symbol for all the children of the world... Throughout
the development of the plot the author
brings to life various traditions of this beloved children's
saint and refers to an interesting view of Santa Claus
which points to the theory of
relativity... This is a story as multicultural as Santa
Claus, full of surprises and much humor."
Yannis S. Papadatos
ITHACA magazine, National Book Center, No12, November-December
2001
"The author's finding,
a red-dressed Santa Claus who wanders in the heart of
Athens during the summer, rouses our interest - let
alone a five year-old girl's curiosity... This surrealistic
picture falls as a stone in G. Rodari's lake, stirs
the author's imagination and unfolds her creativity...
Writing in a compact and solid manner, full of humor
and sensitivity, Loty Petrovits-Andrutsopulou traces
children's viewpoint on every single event as well as
on their soul. Her ability to enliven her little heroes
is uttered through the way they express their wonders,
the guiltless, innocent as well as pure way of a high-spirited
and bright child... The ingenuous manner she approaches
the whole issue rests not only on the connection of
the saint of love with the refugees-immigrants but also
on the link made between the folklore about St. Basil
(the Greek Santa Claus), its modern consumerist picture
and the theory of relativity... The feature of intertextuality
is obvious throughout the whole book..."
Dr. Maria Tzaferopoulou
From the book Penelope’s Weaving – diachronic readings for Loty Petrovits-Andrutsopulou’s works and personality. Word and Culture Laboratory, University of Thessaly: Volos 2008 |
