What is it?
Farr, Jamie & Joy. Hababy’s Christmas Eve. Asheville, NC: Back of the Mouse Books, 2010.
Why should M*A*S*H fans care?
It is a children’s book written by our favorite corpsman, Jamie Farr!
As a M*A*S*H fan, what part should I read?
All of it; it is only 28 pages long!
TL;DR Review
Hababy the camel learns about his ancestors and their place in the Christmas story.
Full Review
Since this weekend is Christmas, I wanted to find a book with a Christmas theme. But where could I find a Christmas book with a M*A*S*H connection? Looking through my M*A*S*H library, I found Hababy’s Christmas Eve, a children’s story by Jamie Farr and his wife Joy Ann. The story is really cute and is beautifully illustrated by Alice io Oglesby. Of course, Farr played Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in M*A*S*H, and he published his autobiography in 1994. In 2010, Hababy’s Christmas Eve was published and is dedicated it to their grandson, a childhood friend, and their children’s babysitter.
The story focuses on a young camel, Hababy, and his friends. His mother, Habeeba, is baking Christmas cookies. While they wait for the cookies, Hababy’s father, Habeebee, tells the children a story. He tells the Biblical story of the three wise men (Balthasar, Melchior, and Caspar), but there’s a twist. The story is told from the point of view of their camels. The story tells of how the camels protected the wise men during a sandstorm, lead the men water, and completed the journey to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus. At the end of the story, we find out that the three camels, Habubba, Habubaba, and Habeebeebaba, are distant relatives of Hababy. The book ends with Hababy and friends enjoying the freshly baked Christmas cookies.
The story is very creative, and I am glad that I purchased a copy of it for my M*A*S*H library. While it may not be directly related to the series we all love, it does give us some insight into the many talents of Jamie Farr, especially his talent for storytelling. The biography page at the end of the book tells us more about Farr and his wife, which I found interesting. Sadly, the website listed for Farr is no longer active, but the website for the illustrator, www.iodesign.net, is still live and regularly updated! As a fan of M*A*S*H, I recommend adding this book to your library if you get the chance to pick up a used copy.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!
The M*A*S*H Historian 
Desperately wanting a copy of this book
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