by Gail Buyske

This Christmas book for children 3 and up broadens the reader's (and the listener's) understanding of another culture. It tells the story of a child's self-discovery while it introduces a bit of Russian and a few traditions of a far-away country.

SANTA CLAUS is overworked one year and writes his friend Father Frost, the Russian Santa, to ask if the Snow Maiden, Frost's helper, could come to the North Pole and pitch in. Since Russian children open their presents at New Year's, and therefore Father Frost is not as rushed as Santa, Father Frost agrees and sends the Snow Maiden to the North Pole with a nesting doll (a matryoshka) to remind her of home.

Playing with the doll consoles the Snow Maiden as she worries that she is not being enough help to Santa. When the littlest piece of the doll is lost, her woes are worsened and she despairs of being "only a little girl." When the piece is found, Santa also finds the perfect gift he needed for this year's Christmas. And the Snow Maiden learns a lesson in being herself.