Santa and His Merry Companions

About the Book

Santa and His Merry Companions. This book, Santa and His Merry Companions, completes the trilogy, beginning with The Reindeer Dog and then the book, Diego and the Goofy Witches of Beigua. This story, Santa and His Merry Companions, begins on Christmas Eve, when Santa and everyone at the North Pole are preparing for the big night to deliver presents around the world. Santa checks his mail one more time, and there is a letter from his friend Peony Penguin, who lives in the Antarctica. She tells Santa not to come because something strange has been happening there. Birds are turning into icicles and dangling in the cold Antarctica sky. This has never happened before. She does not want Santa and the reindeer or Carlo the Official Reindeer Dog to end up like popsicles! But Santa has a plan that he shares with this pal Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Rudy, as Santa calls him, is afraid and is worried that this plan will not work and that they will get stuck in the sky forever and ever! After a long discussion, Rudy agrees with the plan, and Santa contacts his friend Diego, the famous pelican of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Diego will lead the caravan, as he can fly low to the ground, and he can signal to Rudy the weather conditions while the reindeer are pulling the sleigh with Santa and Carlo. Alongside Diego will be Zorbella, one of the goofy witches of Beigua, and her snow globe, Sophia, giving the latest weather forecasts; and zooming with them will be all the goofy witches of Beigua, their witch friends, and the banshees. Santa is hoping that one of the witches or banshees will figure out a magical potion to stop the freeze and allow Santa to bring presents to the animals and birds of the Antarctica. But Santa knows this is risky business, and he has never experienced such a situation, other than the usual bumpy sleigh rides and landings, including the numerous times the goofy witches, such as Florinda, who flies upside down, as well as the famous acrobatic pelican Diego nearly crashed into his sleigh! Will this plan work, or will they be all frozen in the Antarctic sky?

About the Author

Donna Marie was as an educator in the California Community College System for 40 years. More than half of her career was dedicated to developing programs and services for students with disabilities. During her career she was a champion of bringing equal access in education to students with disabilities. Her testimony on this subject in Sacramento was used by California lawmakers in drafting and passing legislation which became a forerunner of the national Americans With Disabilities Act. Her belief is that everyone should have equal access to education. She is now retired and has developed a new passion and new career as an author. She is grateful for the rich legacy of her Italian family both here and abroad and she is reminded daily of them and all they gave to her and now some of those stories have been brought to life in her books. She welcomes the readers and says, "Come join me on my adventures and those of the Goofy Witches of Beigua! I will be waiting for you on my balcony in the little village of Alpicella just below the hills of Beigua where the little old owl named Luna hoots at the moon!."