My Story and A North Pole Tale
I am Phoebe Godfrey, a sociologist who teaches courses at UCONN on Society and Climate Change, Sustainable Societies, Sociology of Food and Race/ Class and Gender. I often use children's books in my classes as they can be very powerful ways of conveying, in simple terms, highly profound messages. Currently there is no message more profound than the message of climate change and the need to change our values and practices. One of the central values and practices that we Americans need to change is consumption, and there is no holiday more dedicated to consumption than Christmas. Therefore, there is no person better suited to teach us new values and practices than Santa.
After Christmas last year when I read that 2014 had been the hottest on record, (and now 2015 has exceeded it) I felt a deep desire to find a new way to reach people about the importance of changing our values and our consumer driven habits. This is the goal of this story -to invite adults and children to go on a magical journey of self and social discovery that returns us to the true meaning of giving.
A North Pole Tale has been written and revised numerous times and is in a final draft. However, what it now needs to make it come fully alive are illustrations like the ones shown here. Done by Fei Fei, a former UCONN student of mine, now an illustrator working in China, (where she is originally from) Fei Fei has the skills and vision to make this book truly beautiful. Yet to do so, requires a fair amount of time and I would like to honor her work by compensating her. Additionally, once it is illustrated, we need to have funds to self-publish it to make sure people will be able to read and learn from its wisdom. This is where YOU come in.
But first let me share some of the story with you....
It
was the day after Christmas and as he did every year a very tired Santa took a
well deserved rest. This year he felt more tired than usual as he had delivered
more toys than ever. "What was Christmas coming to?" he wondered, as
it seemed to him to be more and more about 'getting things' and less and less
about 'giving love' but he didn't know what he could do to change this,
especially not today. For today was they day that he liked to do nothing but
sit by his fire with his cat Kringle and finish all the cookies he had collected from
children around the world while reading the paper. Feeling very relaxed
and comfortable Santa was about to take a long winter’s nap when he saw a small
article at the back of his paper The North Pole News that jolted him fully
awake. The headline read:
“ Scientists Confirm : 2014 Hottest Year in
Recorded Human History.”
Once Santa connects the dots about climate change, remembering that his boots and even his sled were sinking in the permafrost, he realizes the one person with whom he must speak.
![]()
Now
Santa had a secret that no one else alive but himself and the scientist he was
going to see knew. It was not a secret
they had chosen not to disclose but that was just how it had happened, the way
when you mean to say something but before you know it the moment has passed and
it just remains unsaid. This secret was
that Santa had a half brother who like himself celebrated Christmas but whose
mother was a member of the people called Inuit. Along with Santa and his elves the Inuit live in the North Pole, as
well as in Northern Canada and Alaska. Santa was much
older than his brother and although they hadn’t spent much time together they
had a deep connection that couldn’t be put into words. In fact, this connection was a mystery to
them both as the saw the world so differently
based on the different cultures in which they were raised. It was this difference in perspective that Santa was hoping could
now help him answer his question. He had
not seen his brother in some time but if anyone might have an insight he knew Akycha (that means Sun god)
would, as he was a very smart man.
Giving Santa an Inuit half-brother opens the story to other ideas such as Santa learning lessons from his dreams
![]()
and from going on a shamanic journey with a group of animals, including a Polar Bear.
Santa may have traveled the globe but he had never met a polar bear and certainly had
never been inside a cave with one. So he
was a little taken aback when he realized this bear could speak or at least if
she wasn’t actually speaking he could still hear her words in his head. “You’ve been waiting for me?” Santa replied with confusion. “Yes,”
she said “who else better to learn the wisdom I have to share than
you?” “I don’t know” said Santa. “Until a few days ago my only
role was to make and bring presents to the children of the world. And then since learning about climate change
everything has been getting very mysterious!”
“Its only mysterious Santa because even though every year you fly above the
earth you have yet to see the global picture.
You have only been seeing the parts.
Are you willing to see the whole?”
“I suppose so” said Santa pulling on his long white beard. “Will you show me how?” he inquired wondering if he’d be able to sit
down as he was feeling a bit tired.
“Have a seat Santa” she said
motioning to a comfortable looking rock
. “And here have some special hot
mushroom tea. You must be tired and
thirsty from your long journey” she
added while handing him a large mug of warm liquid. “Mushroom tea” thought Santa “how unpleasant”
but he didn’t want to be rude so he took a sip.
The warm liquid was earthy tasting but pleasant and he could feel it
helping him to relax.
![]()
Santa goes on a shamanic journey and when he comes to he realizes what he must do. . However, most of the details don't come to him until he meets his half-brother's daughter - his niece, on his way back to his home.
“Santa” she
called out waving with one hand and holding her reigns with the other as she
steered her sleigh to stop next to Santa.. “Its me Yakone”. “Yakone.. may how you’ve grown.
What are you doing here all alone? “
asked Santa expressing his happiness to see her, as well as his
confusion as to why she might have come.
“Atata (father) thought you might need someone to talk to- someone who is
a kid…so he asked me to pay you a visit before you got home, as I know kids
aren’t allowed to get too close”. “Well,
that’s true” said Santa “...but you’re not just any kid. Do you want to follow me home?”
“I would but Atata asked me to get home before dark so I can only stay a little while. How was your visit with Nanuk?” Yakone asked.
“It very strange Yakone …I have learned so
much about climate change that I now realize I know so little about myself”
Santa explained. “In fact, I have been
left with a question I can’t answer- maybe you can help me?”
“What is it” Yakone asked her brown eyes looking bigger than usual. “The question is how can I be Santa if I
don’t make any toys, since toys take resources and the use of resources takes
homes away from animals and contributes to climate change” Santa explained.
And so together they come up with an answer but the final full answer doesn't come until the end of the book. And for that you will have to wait until the book is ready....
So what this book needs is for these sketches and more to become full color illustrations to bring it to life.
As with Santa's realization in the story that its not the gifts the children want so much but the connection with other people and beings, I too want to recognize that its not just the gifts you are giving that matters, but the connection to all of you which matters most of all. Whatever you can give we appreciate as we know it comes from your hearts and from your desire to change our social story from 'planetary consumption' to 'community creation'.
What I Need & What You Get
Fei Fei, as mentioned, is willing and able to do the illustrations but as a young artist newly graduated from UCONN, she needs to be paid for her time. I do not have the funds to pay her and so we thought we'd create this campaign to ask others like you to help support us. We are committed to illustrating this book and self-publishing it--all of which needs to be funded. We want Santa to become a climate change hero and for his connections to, and help from, the Inuit culture and their values to be known.
This chart is an approximation of what it will cost us to make A North Pole Tale a reality. This would be a lot for just the two of us but if we all pitch in it can be very little and yet accomplish much!
![]()
Depending on your level of support, you can get images from the book and even a signed copy or copies once we self-publish it. You can see yourself as a patron of the arts and as a pioneer for addressing climate change. Maybe you too have thought that the consumerism around Christmas needs to change and children need to get more of what really matters like time with family, nature and animals. If so, then this would be a book you would enjoy reading and/or enjoy reading to/with your kids. The news of climate change is hard to address with children but this book does so in a way that is heart and humor filled, while still presenting aspects of the truth.
Risks & Challenges
The risks are minimal as the story is written and as you can see Fei Fei has been hard at work creating the images and doing research to make sure she gets all the meaningful details. Once all the images are done we will self-publish the book so it can be sold on Amazon and from our website (not yet built). We don't want to waste time looking for a publisher as the polar ice caps are melting and we want to get our story out there in time for next Christmas! All we need is the financial support from you and/or for you to spread the word.
The Impact
This year, 2015, will be the new hottest year on record. The ice caps are melting faster than predicted and the permafrost in the Arctic is also melting. Animals are going extinct and the forests of the world are being cut down at alarming rates. We need a radical shift in our values in terms of teaching our children that there many more important things in the world than 'things'. A North Pole Tale invites adults and children to explore how to be part of changing our culture story by first reading, then sharing and ultimately putting into practice this heartwarming and magical Christmas climate change story.
Other Ways You Can Help
Once the book is available for purchase we will invite everyone who contributed to help spread the word. All it takes is each one to tell someone and, like ice crystals, our and your impact will grow. Help us reclaim, as Santa learns, the power of the gift that is about giving of ourselves from our hearts, not that which destroys life on Earth.
