Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s by Liz Ireland

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

April Claus is trying to stay calm, but when your husband is out making stops all over the world in an aging sleigh pulled by reindeer it’s a little hard.  The sleigh doesn’t even have seatbelts.  Although everyone tells her not to worry, that Santa always comes back, she’s still very tense.  She’s trying to immerse herself in the welcome back preparations, but then there’s a Situation.

Three humans have been found near Santaland, all injured from an apparent plane crash.  They can’t just be left to die, so they are transported to Christmastown where they’ll have to kept isolated and unaware of where they are.  There’s a complication, though:  one of the men has been stabbed—with a reindeer antler.

When the man dies, the ante is upped:  not only does April have to find a murderer, but she also has to keep the survivors convinced that they’re in Canada, that reindeer and snowmen don’t talk, that the elves are just somewhat short humans, and that all the Christmas stuff is just seasonal decorations and not a way of life.

Okay, so when I first heard about this series I thought it sounded way too cutesy for my taste.  Maybe even silly.  Then a reviewer whose opinion I respect gave it a very good review and I decided to give it a try.  I first read a novella set in this world, and found it to be delightful so I moved on to a full length book. 

I’ll admit that it does require a certain suspension of disbelief, what with talking reindeer, elves, snow monsters, and such, but then again so do books in which the local pastry chef solves murders and doles out recipes with equal aplomb.  Most of all, I found this book to be fun and imaginative.  Since April is still an outsider in some ways, having been a human innkeeper in Oregon before meeting Nick, she’s a good guide to the intricacies of Santaland living.  There’s a good bit of world-building and some wonderful characters.  Some of the reindeer were my favorites—oh, not the celebrity reindeer, but the off-beat ones like Wobbler and Quasar. The elves’ efforts to pretend to be Canadian were as humorous as they were earnest, and while I wouldn’t classify this as a fair play mystery, I had such fun reading it that I didn’t care.

While this may not be everyone’s cup of Christmas cheer, I found it was definitely mine. I’m looking forward to reading more in this series.

The Flight of the Reindeer: The True Story of Santa Claus and His Christmas Mission by Robert Sullivan

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Do you ever find yourself doubting that reindeer can fly?  Maybe even there is a split second where you question Santa’s very existence. Never fear, we have just the book to put things all to rights—and to help you explain to that inquisitive six-year-old just how it all works.

Robert Sullivan devoted considerable time and effort in compiling this thorough investigation in which he reveals the history and the science behind the legend.  He interviews scientists, Arctic explorer and environmentalist Will Steger, a veterinarian, and historians to illuminate the truth.  Of course, some things are limited to speculation, such as the exact site of Santa’s birth, though it was probably in south central Greenland somewhere around two thousand years ago.

Flying reindeer, on the other hand, have a much longer lineage, at least judging from the cave paintings.  Santa’s deer are Peary caribou, who are the best fliers.  They are also very long-lived: the current team has been around for a couple of thousand years, except for Rudolph, who is a mere youngster at about 1500 years. 

Of course, a lot of adjustments have had to be made, especially in the last hundred years or so.  For one thing, airspace is a lot more crowded.  This means that Santa has had to enlist a lot of helpers, from meteorologist Al Roker to the President of the United States in order to make his rounds.

This is all just the tip of the iceberg—or Santa’s sleigh if you will, so you really should pick up this lovely oversized book to get all the details.  The Glenn Wolff illustrations are charming, and there are some nice photographs as well.

I think of this book as sort of The Polar Express for a more scientifically minded audience.  Though it pains me to admit any flaw, I do bemoan the lack of an index. It’s just the librarian in me.