"I Am Santa!" Is A Book For All Seasons And Not Just Holidays Say National U.S. Book Critics

Feb. 8, 2011 - PRLog -- California author Kristy Haile’s novel "I Am Santa!" (www.iamsantabook.com), which tells of people’s reactions to a four-year-old boy’s declaration that he is the new real Santa Claus and to his decision to wear his Santa suit all year long is a “book for all seasons” she says.  “Our wish is to keep Santa Claus and his work, his spirit in our daily lives all year long.”  The novel "I Am Santa!" is based on the unusual true adventures of the author’s young son Ty Haile, now 6 years old.

In "I Am Santa!", a four-year-old boy named Nicholas meets a sick old man in a shopping mall who says he is Santa Claus.  After some conversation, the man tells Nicholas that he will be the new real Santa.  Nicholas persuades his mother to buy him a Santa suit, which he wears all year long, describing to his family his late-night trips to the North Pole.  Some people react negatively to Nicholas, while others ask him what he will bring them for Christmas; still others tell him and his mom that seeing such a jolly little Santa makes their day.  His mother decides to support him and let him wear the suit all year, because she wants him to be free to dream and to believe he can be anything he wants to be.

Nicole Sorkin of Pacific Book Reviews had these laudable words for "I Am Santa!": “'I Am Santa!' has a light and loving flow to the maternal narration, as you can tell just how much Kristy Haile enjoyed keeping track of her son’s antidotes and writing the book.  Adaptation into a holiday movie would certainly be a fun evolution for this creative book, and given the true life story and theatrical accolades of her son, he might even be able to play ‘himself’ – that is Santa, of course.”

Said Graciela Sholander for Independent Professional Book Reviewers:  “The story itself is fun and engaging, but what I enjoyed most was the feeling permeating the text, a feeling that page after page conveys family togetherness, motherly love, and a happy home.”

“This is a Christmas title that is recommended reading at any and all times of the year…Author Kristy Haile was brilliantly inspired by the imagination of her son when Ty believed that he was himself the new Santa Claus at the tender age of 2-1/2 years.  Haile kept a record of what her son said and did over the next two years -- as well as other people's responses to Ty's self-identification as Santa.  The result is 'I Am Santa!', a fictionalized account that thoroughly engages the reader's attention in a 343-page novel that is a heartfelt enjoyment and a pure pleasure read from first page to last…Kristy Haile's debut novel is superbly written in a conversational tone.  Superbly crafted fiction from beginning to end, 'I Am Santa!' will be available in 2011 in a hard cover edition (978-0-98270-43-0-1) which is especially recommended for school and community libraries, and also currently available in an e-book format (978-0-9827-043-2-5, $9.99)," said reviewer James Cox, Editor-In-Chief, Midwest Book Review.

“After we moved to Los Angeles and both children became actors on TV, in movies and in commercials, we all learned to focus on the positive things in life and not on the negative ones.  The kids learned to concentrate on being the best they could be—rather than trying to better someone else.  Those choices are also dramatized in 'I Am Santa!'…that is what we want to pass on to everyone else all year long,” emphasized Ms. Haile.

About Author Kristy Haile
Californian Kristy Haile attended Northeastern University in Boston.  She moved from her hometown of Turlock, CA to Los Angeles, where her two children became actors on TV (The Office, Criminal Minds, Desperate Housewives), movies (Chihuahua: The Movie) and in commercials.  At age 4, son Ty came to believe he was Santa Claus.  Haile kept a journal of the funny and unusual things her son said and did over the next two years, as well as of people’s reactions to his self-identification as the “new real Santa Claus.”  That journal was the basis for this book.

"I Am Santa!"
343-page paperback and e-book, both $9.99; Happy Bean Publishing
ISBN numbers 978-0-9827043-1-8 (paperback) and 978-0-9827-043-2-5 (e-book). The hardcover, out in 2011, will have ISBN number 978-0-98270-43-0-1.
The paperback version is available now at Barnes & Noble (bn.com) and also at the book’s website, iamsantabook.com; the e-book is now available at smashwords.com.

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