We all know Santa spends Christmas Eve making lists, checking them twice, reigning in reindeer, leaving gifts for the "nice." But what about Mrs. Claus? First-time author Kate Wharton weaves a modern tale about the ways Santa''s better half might occupy herself while her husband navigates chimneys and stuffs the stockings.

Wharton''s merry text will inspire many a theory about Mrs. Claus, while the visual jokes in Christian Slade''s detailed paintings will have little bellies shaking like bowls full of jelly.

What does KATE WHARTON do? She''s a screenwriter, kung fu black belt, statistician, self-defense instructor, wife, and mother of two. She wrote WHAT DOES MRS. CLAUS DO? one Christmas Eve while watching Mrs. Claus rappel down the Space Needle near her home in Seattle, Washington.


CHRISTIAN SLADE enjoys illustration as much as Santa''s elves enjoy building toys. For research, Christian journeyed by snowsled, with his wife Ann and their toddler twins Kate and Nate, to the North Pole to interview Mrs. Claus personally. The sleigh was pulled by their two Welsh corgis, Penny and Leo, from their home in Winter Garden, Florida.

Everyone knows Santa spends Christmas Eve making lists, checking them twice, and leaving gifts for the nice. But what about Mrs. Claus? A first-time author weaves a modern tale about the ways Santa's better half might occupy herself while her husband navigates chimneys. Full color.