`DEAR SANTA' COLLECTION IS A REAL HEART-TUGGER.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

Mark Heller is trying to raise money for charity by reading somebody else's mail.

They are the kind of notes scrawled in crayon, pencil or felt-tip marker, usually on lined school paper with hand-drawn pictures, by correspondents young enough for their misspellings and punctuation mistakes to be regarded as adorable.

``The Dear Santa Letter Collection,'' published by Heller, is a 64-page illustrated compilation of last year's notes to the North Pole, collected from post offices in virtually every state.

Tinged with unintentional humor and pathos, the letters convey the innocence and sweetness of boys and girls who turn to old St. Nick for gifts not even his elves could build.

``I would like if you can make my dream come true,'' a boy named Jerry wrote on a sheet of spiral notebook paper, decorated with pictures of boys wearing capes.

``I want you to make me and my friends superheroes. I drew some wands too - please put magic in them,'' he said. ``Please give us powers to defeat the world's monsters and the power to fly and do X-ray vision.''

Many of the notes are poignant. ``Can I have my family be happy on Christmas morning?'' asks a child named Chris C.

``I wold like a daddy for Christmas, like my old daddy,'' Christina writes. ``OK Santa you see my old daddy died and I'm sad I'm nevr happy,'' she said.

In separate letters, Nicole and Kelsy ask for a baby sister, and Alex includes a crayon portrait of his lost cat Arthur, with the request that Santa Claus find his beloved pet.

Bailey asks Santa for a hand-held video game to replace one lost on vacation. ``I think I lost it on the plane,'' the youngster wrote. ``My dad said that you are my only hope of getting it because money doesn't grow on trees. If it does, could you bring my dad one?''

Heller, who works in the marketing and producing ends of the entertainment industry, has lined up several organizations to sell the $13 hardcover books; in return, they can keep $4 for each one sold. Heller said he will donate an additional dollar per book to charities of his choice, and the remaining $8 will cover his production costs.

Most beneficiaries of the book sales are community organizations in Southern California, including: the Boys & Girls Club of the Santa Clarita Valley, Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, Valley Presbyterian Hospital Foundation in Van Nuys, the Rotary Club chapter in Calabasas, Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, the North Valley Family YMCA in Mission Hills, Big Sisters of Los Angeles, and St. Anne's Maternity Home and Ronald McDonald House, both in Los Angeles.

The book was inspired by Heller's daughter Emily, who was born three months premature, tipping the scales at a mere 2 pounds and measuring no bigger than her father's hand. Heller credits Emily's doctors and nurses at Valley Presbyterian's neonatal intensive care unit with her survival.

``She was in an incubator for three months,'' Heller said. ``They took good care of her.''

That baby has grown into a healthy third-grader who turned 8 last month. Emily and her sister Rachael, a 10-year-old fifth-grader, helped Heller sift through boxes of children's letters and choose the ones that were reprinted in the book.

``I spent six months reviewing more than 10,000 letters to Santa,'' Heller said. ``I have postmarks from almost every state.''

While many children submit long, detailed lists of the toys they want, other letters have a refreshingly noble, heartfelt intent.

A letter writer named Dan has a soft spot for the homeless. ``Please give presents to the people on the street,'' he wrote. ``It will really fill my hart with joy and love. Some times I see people on the street and I wont to give them money.''

``I do not want presents,'' begins a letter from Katie. ``You see my friends next door Heather and Robert never get presents by you. Every year they get really sad so I am writing you this letter. So can you try really hard to bring them something this christmas.''

Alison's family apparently is going through tough times. ``Mom said you don't have any money because you lost your job. So we have to wait until next year to get presents,'' she wrote. ``Is this true? If it is I hope you find a job soon so me and my sister can get what we wished for.''

An 8-year-old named Jennifer asks to master sign language. ``Maybe you could help me and my brother talk to each other better. He can't hear and is learning to use his hands to talk and I am learning too!'' she said.

Several youngsters asked for exotic pets such as chimps, dinosaurs, bunnies, hamsters, a Dalmatian, an Alaskan malamute, a horse, an elephant, a baby seal and a giraffe.

Amber hopes to befriend one of Santa's toy makers. ``I would like to meet an Elf. Or an elf to come to my home. My mom said it was ok,'' she said.

Emily's letter, in alternating words of red and green, tops them all. ``Can I have Rudolph for Chirstmas? Because I have crush on him. I love his red nose.''

The books can also be ordered via a toll-free number, [phone] or by fax at [phone]. Heller is selling the books over a World Wide Web site; mail orders can be sent to The Dear Santa Letter Collection, 26562 Bouquet Canyon Road, North Pole 171, Santa Clarita, Calif. 91350.