ISBN: 978-0-9827043-1-8

Publisher: Happy Bean Publishing

Based on the imagination of her preschooler Ty, and a journal she kept, Kristy Haile has authored I Am Santa that I am sure will evoke a great deal of heated discussion and debate. Where do we draw the line pertaining to our children's overactive imaginations? Is it better to adopt the philosophy that we cannot or should not squelch their imaginations, even if it means subjecting your children to ridicule and suspension from school? Do we want to put our children in a 'box' of standards created by the world? Should we prevent our children from being all him or her all the time? Should we request of our children that they should not be authentic at school? On the other hand, how do we distinguish between an overactive imagination and obsessive behavior or confusing our dreams with reality? As you can appreciate, these are difficult issues and are the central themes that Haile touches on in her work of fiction, I Am Santa.

I Am Santa begins when Haile's fictional character, Nicolas tags along one day with his mother and sister Holly to a shopping center where he notices an old man on a bench. Within a few minutes Nicolas disappears and when he is finally found, he recounts to his mother, whom he now calls Mimi, that the old man told him he was waiting for him and that, as he is very sick, he is now the new real Santa Claus. From this point onwards, Nicolas insists on wearing his Santa suit wherever he goes and this includes in school, shopping, around the house and at any time during the year, not only around Christmas. Incidentally, he is very annoyed whenever someone refers to his Santa suit as a costume rather than a suit. He even tells his mother and sister that he has been to the North Pole where he met Santa's elves and where he learned about the “naughty and nice lists.”

Although at first his sister Holly is annoyed and embarrassed with her little brother's behavior, which has also subjected her to some uncomfortable situations among her own friends, she, as well as her mother, come on board and begin to believe that Nicolas is the new Santa Claus. However, such is not the case with Nicolas' father Garrett, who would like to see his son act normally and be like all the other kids. As he states: “ I don't know why my son has to think he is Santa Claus. Why can't he be into sports or something else? I don't want my son to be different. I want a regular son. I mean, I appreciate he has such a good imagination and all. But I would rather he only be imaginative at home and not around other people.” As a result, family differences do pop up from time-to-time when Nicolas encounters “non-believers” that question his behavior and make remarks as “well it looks as if your are a quite a bit early for Christmas this year buddy.” When Nicolas's father does not come to his rescue in defending him, he complains to his mother, who is not exactly ecstatic with her husband's lack of response. She is convinced that one day her husband will likewise be a believer.

If you find yourself reading this book as if it were a typical Christmas fairy tale, watch out. For some readers it may prove to be only a far fetched story about a preschooler who has an overactive imagination bordering on an obsession. Others, however, may appreciate the broad implications of the story, as they are able to separate the forest from the trees and understand that it is important that we follow our dreams. Look at many of our great inventors and their inventions. Where would we be today if they did not have overactive imaginations and followed their dreams that did come true? They were also subjected to ridicule, scorn and even at times had their lives threatened. In the end and one of the major themes of this book is that what matters is what YOU believe, and don't give up, your dreams may be closer than you think.

Kristy Haile graduated from Northeastern University in Boston. She lives in California with husband and two children. Her children have become actors on TV, The Office, Criminal Minds, Desperate Housewives), movies (Chihuahua: The Movie) and in commercials.

Click Here To Read Norm's Interview With Kristy Haile