When l'il elf Jed falls out of Santa's sleigh high above a Southern farm, thumping down upon the soft ground one balmy Christmas Eve, the story of Santa in the South is brought to light. For according to Jed, Santa is a Southerner at heart, and never misses a chance to trade in his warm layers of heavy coats, sweaters, and mittens for comfortable overalls and a well-worn baseball cap. He even eats chicken and dumplings, home fries, and grits to get him through the long night delivering toys! This playful takeoff on the original Night Before Christmas will delight young readers and all readers who are young at heart. So "Gather the young'uns and grown-up-ones too/Sit back and relax, you can kick off your shoes/And I'll tell you a tale full of down-home good cheer/Of how Christmas works when it travels down here." With entertaining illustrations by James Rice, one of the South's leading illustrators of children's books, and a charming text written by Robert Bernardini, both Southerners and those who simply wish they were are sure to love this adaptation of the well-known Christmas poem. Robert Bernardini, creator of "l'il elf Jed," resides in Columbia, South Carolina. His love of the South and of children led him to write A Southern Time Christmas, a story of Christmas without snow. James Rice, whose works now number over 1,000,000 copies in print, completed his M.F.A. studies at Stephen F. Austin University. He travels year-round throughout the country speaking to schoolchildren.