The holiday season has started early for Mauro DiPreta, an editor at
HarperCollins and author of the new children's picture book Fartsy
Claus. Penned under the pseudonym Mitch Chivus and illustrated by Mike
Reed, the tome is a humorous re-telling of The Night Before Christmas.
Each year on Christmas Eve, DiPreta entertains his four children with a
rendition of the classic tale. After countless readings over the years,
he began to "ad lib," he said, "and injecting gas into the story for
some reason was hilarious to the kids." [Editor's note: "for some
reason?" Based on our parental experience, "gas" is fuel enough for a
giggle. See next paragraph.] The idea for Fartsy Claus "evolved from
there," DiPreta added, and the result is an account of an especially
memorable Christmas Eve. After sampling a plate of franks and beans at
one household while delivering presents, Santa is overcome with a
gastric calamity that nearly ruins Christmas.
"It's irreverent, it's goofy, and it's not meant in any way to be
blasphemous or distasteful," said DiPreta of his literary debut.
Judging by the popularity of such books as Walter the Farting Dog, The
Day My Butt Went Psycho and the Captain Underpants series, bathroom
humor holds a particular appeal for young readers. In a blog post about
Fartsy Claus, Marley & Me scribe John Grogan--one of DiPreta's
authors and who has promoted his own children's books--noted on the
subject, "I have learned that nothing makes kids giggle and squeal more
than bodily functions. The holy trinity of children's literature, I've
concluded, is poop, pee, and underpants," he continued. "Use them in
any combination and you are sure to get loads of laughs."
To ensure that Fartsy Claus generates laughs from attendees at his
author events, DiPreta will don a costume and appear as "mischievous
elf" Mitch Chivus. "I love the idea of an alter ego," said DiPreta,
even if it means that he'll "look like Will Ferrell" in the movie Elf.
Santa Claus will be showing up at the events, too, although presumably
not having eaten franks and beans first. Ultimately, DiPreta said,
writing Fartsy Claus "was about making kids laugh. If I can make kids
laugh, I feel like that's a good day."
Besides being entertained, readers can learn something from the book,
DiPreta believes. "It teaches you that you can make lemonade from
lemons and can always turn a bad situation into good," he said. His
doppelganger, though, has more pragmatic advice to impart. "I think the
lessons that Mitch would draw from this," said DiPreta, "would be one,
never leave franks and beans for Santa and two, never stand downwind
from Santa."
When it came to choosing a publisher for the unconventional Christmas
tale, DiPreta opted to sign with a familiar one--HarperCollins'
children's division. An agent sent the book to several editors using a
different name for DiPreta, and it was only after HarperCollins
Children's Publishers expressed interest in the project that his
affiliation with the company was revealed. Dabbling in the other side
of the editorial process has earned DiPreta a bit of fame among his
colleagues. "They call me a renaissance elf," he said, "for having
masterfully written a story."
As for future books, "It's really up to Mitch," remarked DiPreta. "If
he feels motivated I'm going to help him. But if he's not, I don't want
to force it on him. It has to be inspired." Readers will be able to
learn more about Mitch on a forthcoming website that explores the elf's
background and reveals why he decided to share the story of Santa's
embarrassing escapade in Fartsy Claus.
By the way, when Santa stops by the DiPretas on Christmas Eve, he won't
find franks and beans but rather a more traditional treat: a fresh
batch of homemade cookies.--Shannon McKenna Schmidt