Santa and his reindeer get lost in a blizzard, but the U.S. military comes to the rescue in this ingenious parody of “The Night Before Christmas.”
The cleverly rhymed text uses the basic structure of the familiar poem and places it into a modern setting at the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the military agency charged with monitoring all air traffic. When Santa’s sleigh disappears from NORAD’s radar, the supervising general notifies the commander-in-chief of the U.S., who scrambles fighter jets and Special Forces to assist in finding Santa, and then all the military’s resources are deployed around the world to get the presents delivered. Military lingo is embedded in the text (“Now march away! Fly away! Sail away, all!”), and fighter jets, ships, jeeps and Special Ops forces in uniform all help Santa on his way. Digitally produced illustrations have a cinematic quality with a 3-D effect that makes the characters stand out, augmented by dramatic lighting and varied perspectives.
Children with parents serving in the armed forces will be especially fond of this version of the beloved poem. (Picture book. 4-8)
