Santa wasn't always a fat old man; here at last is the story of his youth and early career. Born in Sioux City to Sophie and Milton (a door-to-door icebox salesman) and named after Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa initially found life at the North Pole tough sledding: same-day laundry service could take as long as six months. To help pay for a new sleigh powered by eight used but powerful tiny reindeer, he went to work a local toy store, where--after a few false starts (``Sit down on a big chair and [ask] all the little kids to climb up in your lap and tell you what they had for breakfast'')--he was a brilliant success. It's all here: where he got the red outfit, why he didn't shave, how he gathered up all the unemployed elves (there's not much demand for shoes at the Pole) and opened a toy factory, what got him into the delivery business, even the circumstances behind his unorthodox method of entering houses. Miller provides several simply drawn cartoons in black and red. Santa says, ``Merry Christmas to all, and to all- -uh...have a nice day!'' (Fiction. 9-13)
