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Most Christmas Eve stories told to children focus on Santa’s journey to deliver presents, but a new book aims to showcase the Christmastime tradition of Nochebuena, while putting Mrs. Claus front and center of the story.
“Merry Claus and the Holiday Dash” is San Carlos resident Ellen Hohbach Scheetz’s first book. Published in November, it follows Mrs. Claus, whose first name is Merry, as she readies presents for delivery while celebrating Nochebuena. During the holiday, celebrated in Latin American, Filipino and Spanish cultures, family and friends spend the night before Christmas listening to music, eating a late-night dinner and playing games like Lotería, which is similar to bingo.
Hohbach Scheetz, an Atherton native, wanted to write a book with a “fun, dynamic” Mrs. Claus to share with her children, while teaching people about other cultures. Although the book is primarily in English, it is peppered with key words bolded in Spanish — tamales, pozole (Mexican stew) and polvorones (shortbread cookies).
“Stories tell children who is important and why, and past stories have left a lot of people out,” said Hohbach Scheetz, who was previously a copywriter but now works as a life coach and helps manage diversity, equity and inclusion programs. “And I want my children to know that all types of people make excellent leaders. … Merry Claus is a collaborative leader.”
Other themes in the book include the idea that everyone has important ways to contribute.
“There are 11 elves, and they’re all different — different heights … skin colors … everybody’s wearing their own elf outfit,” she said. “The idea of diversity as a positive, and everybody’s uniqueness is welcome here, and everybody has an important role to play on this team.”
To ensure that she depicted the Mexican culture’s Nochebuena traditions accurately, she found co-author Stefani Pineda using Indeed.com. Pineda helped her shape the story with her own Nochebuena memories. Hohbach Scheetz’s publishing consultant helped her connect with Mexico City-based Luz Lara Villalpando to illustrate the book.
“It always just comes back to family and friends, and the warmth of just the food and cooking,” said Pineda of Nochebuena. “Bonfires outside of my grandma’s house. I really look forward to it (the holiday), even more than New Year’s.”
Pineda is pregnant with her first child and excited to share family traditions with her daughter through the book. She noted the book is not just another “cookie-cutter” holiday story.
Pineda said society needs more stories like “Merry Claus” to represent Latina culture as immigrants face mass deportation efforts by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“It’s very tough times,” she said. “We (Mexican Americans) are still part of California. We have always been the backbone and make up a huge percentage of the population.”
Hohbach Scheetz recommends aspiring children’s book authors use Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators resources and to pay attention to writers who are doing similar work. She names Jessica Spanyol (author and illustrator of “Carlo the Giraffe”), Rafael López (who wrote “We’ve Got the Whole World in Our Hands”) and Vivian Walsh and J. Otto Seibold (who authored “Olive, the Other Reindeer”) as her prime influences.
To order the book and accompanying materials, such as a Lotería-inspired board game, go to followmerry.com.
Hohbach Scheetz will host a book talk at the Redwood City Library’s downtown location, 1044 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, on Dec. 20 from 11 a.m. to noon. For more information, go to redwoodcity.org/departments/library/events/library-events.
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