Book excerpt: HOW THE RUSSIAN SNOW MAIDEN HELPED SANTA CLAUS is a cross-cultural Christmas tale of a child's self-discovery, learning "how to be yourself." The Snow Maiden (Snegurochka) is the helper of the Russian Santa Claus figure, called Father Frost (Dyed Moroz). Readers are introduced to a few Russian folk characters and traditions as well as a few fun-to-say words in Russian (with a guide to pronounciation).