Operation Santa Claus

Michael Keane was embedded in Iraq with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, under the command of General David Petraeus, and in Kabul, Afghanistan, at the headquarters of the ISAF Commander, General Stanley McChrystal. Keane is a former Fellow of the U.S. Department of War's National Security Education Program. He has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and The History Channel, and has been profiled in BusinessWeek magazine. Keane is also the author of PATTON: Blood, Guts, and Prayer and the Dictionary of Modern Strategy and Tactics. He earned his JD from the University of Texas School of Law, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a BA from the University of Southern California. He lives in Santa Monica, California.Michael Garland, an award-winning author and illustrator, has been on the New York Times Best Seller list four times! His work includes Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook, which recently won the California and Delaware State Reading awards, and Christmas Magic, now a season classic and currently being developed for a TV special. Garland has illustrated for celebrity authors like James Patterson and Gloria Estefan. His illustrations for Patterson’s SantaKid were the inspiration for Saks Fifth Avenue’s Christmas holiday window display in New York City. His work has won many honors and is frequently included in the Society of Illustrators and the Original Art of Children’s book show, as well as annuals from Print, Graphis, and Communications Arts magazines.

"'Twas the Night Before Christmas' meets NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), tracking Santa's sleigh for his once-a-year mission. But this year, Santa goes missing from the radar. This calls for a rescue mission deployment, but does that delay gift distribution? Not with NORAD on the case! The rhyming text ('Our agency knows on a need-to-know basis/Who's been naughty and nice./Whoa! They're classified cases') and Garland's trademark digital cartoon illustrations capture the command center and bring the jolly old man and his reindeer to life. Santa gives his consent to have the Special Ops teams (Delta Force, Navy Seals, and Army Rangers) and other military volunteers deliver the presents. To continue the fun, readers can check www.noradsanta.org each December as NORAD tracks Santa.Military families and Santa trackers will love this rendition." —School Library Journal“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.” —Kirkus