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ribbonquest's review
5.0
Gorgeous art and beautiful prose. It mostly skips past the second half of the ballet, instead having a single pop-up page with imagery from that section. The pop-up is so intricate, most kids would destroy it just looking at it. Keep this book to grown ups and older kids.
backonthealex's review
4.0
In 1892, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote his famous score The Nutcracker for a two act ballet that was choreographed by Marius Petipa and performed in St. Petersburg on December 18, 1892. This beautifully illustrated version of The Nutcracker is based on the sets of that first ballet. The illustrations are done in a palette of oranges, yellows and blues, with touches of red and green for the Christmas trees. Many of the figures are done in silhouette with only touches of color, adding much to that dreamy atmosphere that permeates this tale. At the end of the book, there is an stunningly ethereal pop-up of the ball in the Land of Sweets. The book may seem a little text heavy at first, but the story is told so clearly and simply here that I think it shouldn't be a problem for most young readers. The tale of The Nutcracker all begins when Clara's Christmas Eve gift from her godfather Dr. Drosselmeyer is broken by her jealous younger brother, and her godfather promises that it will be good as new in the morning. That night, Clara dreams about helping the Nutcracker Prince defeat the Mouse King in a fight. Afterwards, the Prince takes her to the Land of Sweets. where he lives and Clara meet the Sugar Plum Fairy, who takes them to a ball where they dance until morning. In the morning, when she wakes up, Clara has a magical surprise waiting for her. A beautiful edition and a must read for anyone who may be going to see the ballet this Christmas.
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