Little Ellie Claus

Veteran television writer Manos makes his publishing debut with this spirited Christmas tale set during the Depression. Newlyweds Peter and Lucy Thompson arrive in New York City from Iowa in a beat-up truck loaded down with their worldly possessions and countless birds, hamsters, turtles and other pets. Peter, who hopes to become a vet, has been promised a job as a teaching assistant at Columbia University's veterinary school. Amid the squalor of Manhattan's Lower East Side, the handsome young couple manage to make a cozy home with their beloved animals and hopes for better times. When the Depression eliminates Peter's university position, the two quickly run out of money. On Christmas Eve, Peter gets a job driving a hansom cab. While Lucy waits at home with the news that she is expecting a child, tragedy strikes and Peter is killed. The plot turns fanciful when Peter learns that he may choose whether to spend eternity in Heaven or at the North PoleDand he chooses the latter. In the ensuing year, the destitute Lucy is forced to leave her new baby, Ellie, on the steps of a church orphanage. As the novel's title implies, Santa Claus adopts the baby, and the child enjoys a magical, life in a winter-wonderland. Manos ties up the loose ends neatly, adding further drama when Ellie learns the truth about her real parents. This novel feels like a TV movie between covers (Manos won an Emmy in 1999 for writing an episode of The Sopranos) but it offers seasonal charm for both children and adults. (Nov.)