Canadian author, podcaster and voice actor Robert Tinkler has released his kids graphic novel 8 Tiny Reindeer, published by Kids Can Press, for the 2023 holiday season. A holiday adventure story with a modern twist, each chapter of 8 Tiny Reindeer is filled with high-energy illustrations alongside contemporary takes on familiar characters, such as a tech-challenged Santa and a selfie-obsessed elf. This action-packed, hilarious and heartfelt graphic novel is destined to be a Christmas classic. Plus, it’s based on Robert’s kids podcast of the same name, which is listened to around the world. We spoke with the author to learn more. —Vita Daily
Hi Robert! Please tell us a bit about yourself to start.
I am a Emmy-nominated voice actor as well as a screenwriter and podcaster. Some characters I’m playing now are Woodstock on the Snoopy Show on Apple TV and Sparky Sparkeroni on My Little Pony on Netflix. I’m married to my wonderful spouse, Jessica, and am a proud dad of 12-year-old twins. When I’m not “dad-ing”, I’m writing and creating.
Congratulations on your new kids graphic novel 8 Tiny Reindeer! Could you please tell us what inspired it? And, importantly, what it’s about?
Thank you so much! My inspiration always comes from my kids and trying to entertain them or make them laugh. 8 Tiny Reindeer started out as a little tale I wrote the kids for Xmas. And the tale evolved into a much more epic script, and then a podcast, and now it’s a graphic novel. The story is that Santa has now gone totally high-tech, making all his gifts with machines and delivering them with flying drones—so he lets go of all his elves (except for two) and releases his 8 Tiny Reindeer back into the wild. But, the evil tech baron who installed Santa’s new technology then shuts down the whole operation, cancelling Xmas! Santa now asks his two remaining elves to please find the missing 8 Tiny Reindeer so that Xmas can happen!
What’s the best way to read/enjoy this book?
The book is like an advent calendar where each chapter in the story is a day in the month of December. You and your family can read a chapter a day every day through till Christmas! Or you can binge-read it. It’s hard not to. It’s a very exciting story!
Why did you feel Santa, the elves and classic Christmas tale needed an update?
As a screenwriter I always try to put a new spin on familiar or classic characters. For example, in many stories elves are typically portrayed as this loyal class of happy worker bees. So, instead, I made the two elves uniquely different personalities who become a total odd couple buddy cop duo given the insurmountable task of finding the mischievous missing reindeer. I took familiar old characters and transformed them into a comedic pair in a modern buddy cop movie.
In what ways will modern-day kids relate to the characters?
I’d say that the kids will really laugh at the goofy antics of the silly evasive reindeer, but they will relate to the elves and this impossible “chore” Santa has given them. Elvis Elf doesn’t like reindeer, he’s allergic to deer dander, and is filled with doubts and is constantly struggling with traditions. On the other hand, his much more optimistic elf partner Delphina is totally obsessed with technology, and she’s actually embarrassed of being an elf. There’s quite a bit of emotional depth to the story underneath the hilarious situations.
You have a podcast, too! What’s it about, and where can we catch it?
The podcast is pretty much the same story, and even has 24 chapters like an advent calendar, just like the book. It’s absolutely free and can be found on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you stream. If you have young kids who have a hard time reading, they can just listen to the podcast and flip through the beautiful full colour illustrations in the book by Danesh Mohiuddin. This is our Christmas gift back to your little readers! Enjoy!
On that note, where can we get a copy of the book in time for the Christmas countdown?
Canadians can get a copy at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca. Amazon actually carries it globally if you wanted to send it as a gift abroad!
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