Workshop Walkout: The Great Reindeer Rebellion by Lisa Trumbauer

NO PAY
NO SLEIGH

It's what any entrepreneur fears! A work stoppage on the EVE of a major deadline!

But that's the situation Santa faces on Christmas Eve. The product stands ready for delivery. Clients are waiting for their shipments as always, with visions of sugarplums to keep them awake for that happy sound of hooves on the roof.

But the hooves are a no go. The reindeer are picketing the workshop with signs and chanting:

"We're striking, dear Santa.
And until things get better,
No pulling or flying.
We're in this together."

Labor relations have definitely broken down, along with St. Nick's transport system, and to meet his reindeer-power needs, Santa realizes that he's going to have to scare up some scabs. An ad produces lots of would-be workers. Dogs, cats, flamingos, kangaroos, elephants, all show up, hoping to harness up and share the glory of delivering the goods on Christmas Eve.

But each group has its limitations: the dogs veer off course at the first sniff of something delicious; the cats are sidetracked by mice; the flamingos, although natural flyers, discover that they can't stand on rooftops on just one leg; and the kangaroos--well, they shoplift from the workshop, hiding the stolen goods in their pouches. Elephants are honest and dependable, good landers and standers, but their weight proves too much for the test rooftops, which collapse before Santa can even climb down their chimneys.

At last St. Nick agrees to negotiate with his rebellious reindeer, who settle for a few perks--a whirlpool sauna in which to relax after their annual trip and a lifetime contract for cable TV for their break room. At last the transportation department does its duty and Santa's delivery gets off the ground just in time to whirl around the world before dawn.

Lisa Trumbauer's and Jannie Ho's latest collaboration, The Great Reindeer Rebellion (Sterling, 2009), adds another roguish reindeer narration to the bookshelf of Santa's jolly journeys on Christmas Eve.