CHICAGO — A 14-year-old Beverly resident has penned a book that might help you answer your kids’ questions about where Santa comes from or why he hasn’t aged in over 2,000 years.
Sebastian Milton will be signing copies of his book, “How Old St. Nicholas Came To Be,” from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at Bookies, 10324 S. Western Ave., Chicago. He’ll be joined by the book’s illustrator, Charles Sheppard, also a Beverly resident, who will be signing stunning prints from the book. Sebastian will do a reading at 3:30 p.m.
The idea for the book originated in 2017, when Sebastian was just 7-years-old.
“I put together the story in my head how St. Nicholas and Santa become possible,” Sebastian told Patch. “The story slowly came together in my head.”
During the pandemic when he was ten, Sebastian, who is homeschooled, began researching the book. He started putting the ideas into chapters.
“We couldn’t go to the library, so we scoured the internet,” he said.
He finally got down to writing the story during the pandemic.
In “How Old St. Nicholas Came To Be,” Milton explored messages from ancient texts, folklore from the cradle of civilization, and traditional Christmas legends to tell a captivating new holiday story.
One of the most interesting facts he discovered was how the wise men were depicted in different cultures.
“In some cultures there were three wise men, and in some cultures there were twelve wise men,” Sebastian said.
A family friend, Grace Kuikman, the current president of Pike House Foundation, helped edit the book. Kuikman showed the manuscript to Beverly-resident Charles Sheppard.
“He took a look at the book and was very ecstatic,” Sebastian said. “He wanted to illustrate.”
The book is aimed to children ages 3 through 8, but its thought-provoking and optimistic story will engage readers of all ages.
“I love celebrating Christmas and all the holidays because it’s fun,” Sebastian said. “At a certain point you become conscious as a human, you start questioning things.”
When the books arrived wrinkled at Bookie’s, Sebastian and his parents had to iron the pages. There were also long, restless nights where his family “had to do the dumb ISBN’s.”
Sebastian hopes to study engineering in college, and write children’s stories on the side. He has a second children’s book cooking about helping others, which his father is illustrating.
When he’s not writing, Sebastian likes to look for found jewelry, and recently found a Seiko watch in an old bureau. He also recently acquired a magnet for magnet fishing.
“How Old St. Nicholas Came To Be” is available for $29.99 at Bookie’s and Tucker Inc. where he takes all his found jewelry to appraised on Jewelers Row at 5 S. Wabash, Ste. 507, Chicago. The book is also available for purchase on Amazon (search for “Sebastian Milton”).
Sebastian said he got a lot of support from his parents when writing and publishing the book. One thing he learned was patience.
“It took seven years to put it together,” he said. “If I were to look back, I’d wait to do it when I know more.”
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