The Night Santa Got Lost: How NORAD Saved Christmas by Michael Keane

The Night Santa Got Lost: How NORAD Saved Christmas by Michael Keane, illustrated by Michael Garland

Rating: 5 stars


This is a fun holiday book I reviewed last year for Washington Family magazine.  I just saw it last week at Barnes and Noble and was reminded how much I liked it.  It's definitely not for everyone--Santa rapelling and all!--but for those who think that's a fun image, this book is for YOU.  And your family.  Or...maybe just for you!

Here ya go:

Just as every military group has their own color of ribbon to wear or sticker on their members' cars, every group has their own version of the classic The Night Before Christmas.  As a member of the large and varied defense industry--I'm an Army brat, sister of a soldier, a former defense analyst--I am thrilled that this treasure of a book fell into my lap!

The plot is, like most stories, one that has been told before: It's Christmas Eve, and Santa is on his mission to deliver toys when a massive blizzard knocks him and his reindeer off course.  He is stuck for a while; by the time he gets unstuck he's in a time crunch.  With help from his friends, the toys find the right good boys and girls and everyone wakes up to many gifts and many smiles.

The story, like all recycled stories, has its own twist: Our North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is responsible for tracking airplanes, bombers, Air Force One, and oh! Santa and his reindeer, too.  They see the little "blob" that represents Santa on their screens suddenly disappear.  A small, elite military team fast-ropes out of a helicopter and finds a cold Santa and his equally chilly reindeer buried in heaps of snow.

To read the rest, click here.


P.S.  This is the author's first children's book.  On the back flap is a list of other stuff he's written, including The Dictionary of Modern Strategy and Tactics.  Just sort of a funny thing when you compare it with Santa.  I love it!