ISABEL'S NOEL
by Jane Yolen
What will happen when a blond witch spirits a letter to Santa and he shows up in the soup? No one can witch Santa away (he's too good), so he's stuck without reindeer on Christmas Eve. The three hilariously caricatured witches and the frantic Santa make strange sled fellows as they all try desperately to get him off; finally Isabel (the guilty party) must pull the sleigh with her broom—mother admonishes "Only go inside and dirty up first" and grandmother adds "Be sure to forget your manners." A zany fantasy with a MAD mag cast, equipped to tickle the reader as well as the read-to.