A young boy has all sorts of wishes for Santa, but what would Christmas really be like if Santa marched to a different drummer? Endearing pictures and a fanciful story suggest the delightful possibilities. Christmas is coming, and Maxie has wishes. “Mommy, I wish Santa would come by helicopter.” So begins a loving, charmingly illustrated give-and-take between a boy and his mother, in which his fantasies run wild and she sweetly brings him back to reality again. When he hopes that Santa will help them trim their tree, Mom “Then, Maxie, who would trim Santa’s tree?” When he longs to have Santa join them for dinner, Mama points out that a jolly, roly-poly man and his 8 reindeer would eat quite a lot. But, of course, holiday dreams do come true, and maybe, on Christmas morn, Santa will be there.
Author
Harriet Ziefert grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University. For many years, Ziefert was an elementary school teacher. She taught most grades from kindergarten to fifth grade. "I liked it," she said, but she stopped teaching when she had her own sons. When her children were older, Ziefert wanted "a bigger arena" for her work. She went to work at a publishing company, Scholastic in New York City, developing materials for teacher's guides for kindergarten language arts and social studies programs. "About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year.
