The Nutcracker

The illustrations are beautiful. I bought this book to intro my 3 year old to nutcracker and other Xmas concepts as part of a 25 days of Xmas book-a-day advent calendar. I bought 3 nutcracker books and the best one for intro or young minds surprisingly was The Story Orchestra version (Courtney-Tickle) which also plays Tchaikovsky. The story text in this Regan version tries to capture so much action that some of the transitions that a young child would benefit from are missing. For example, this is an endless series of actions “suddenly hundreds of mice scampered “ suddenly the house disappeared” The other version I mention breaks down concepts in way that’s easier for me to read and explain to my little guy, and that young children understand “they have a party” “a battle starts” “they watch a show” But this one has beautiful colors and wonderfully drawn facial expressions. Just wanted to point that out in case you’re looking for an early intro version!

My five year old loves this version of the nutcracker. It's short enough and to the point that she understood the general idea of the nutcracker. I bought this book hoping it would help her makes sense of the nutcracker before we went to the performance and it did just that. She was able to follow what was happening with all the different dances on the stage. I originally thought I would read this version to my one year old and read the hardcover version I also purchased to my daughter. But it worked out that this board book version was plenty detailed enough for my five year old while still staying basic enough for her get the basic concept.

An absolutely gorgeous book! The pictures are beautiful, and the story line is concise but quite adequate. Our 3yo is entranced every time we read it. The moving images are a tad disappointing (they're a little dark without much contrast), but they still augment the scenes nicely. Highly recommended!

A lovely introduction for my granddaughter's first trip to a performance of "The Nutcracker" ballet. She called it "The Crackernut"!

The illustrations were great. Everything in the book was great. Just what I was looking for .

This book wonderfully captures the essence of the story at a level that even the youngest of readers can grasp. It does not belabor the scary bits (a useful note for those with delicate sensibilities) and provides enough detail to allow the reader to track the ballet. Another note: the story uses the name Clara instead of Marie, which may matter to some. This was a plus for me. But the illustrations are the key selling point. They are the best that I have see! They are expansive-- covering the whole page-- dreamy and whimsical, a work of art. I'm thoroughly pleased with my choice and can't wait to read it to my daughter!

Loved this book! Pictures are magical, text is complete but short enough to hold a child's attention . The peek-a-boo windows add special delight to the story. The perfect Christmas gift to read all year.

Very impressive book! Way underpriced on Amazon for the great quality of book this is (under $4). Book is thick, sturdy, and has flaps to reveal moving images which is a nice feature. I like the soft, dreamlike quality of the illustrations. As an adult I was pleased with it, and I imagine any young child would be too.

This is a quality book and the painted illustrations are a real work of art, capturing plenty of fine detail but most importantly really bringing the characters to life. The story is well written and the whole presentation and quality of the book is excellent. The interactive moving/pop-out parts are cleverly done. We bought it for a child but like it enough to keep it on our own bookshelf.

great presentation and wonderfully illustrated, brings the story alive for young hearts and for those who simply love the Nutcracker narrative!

I love the nutcracker as a ballet and it is a Sweet story and this book explains the story well and is beautifully illustrated.

Mhjbjhlbhjvhgmvhgvgvghvghvvghkghv ghlljhfjfhlflljfhfljfhjlflfhl.Yufylyfufluggjcclkghchcgkkchggc ggwhdhdsbchbhcd hudebchabhud vchecbhebdd sbxhbchdbd dubbed ended hdjendheh uehduehdhebhebduehdue hedged hdjhhchdfhdhchhdchhdgchfgvfhcuf chdchfchhffhhfvghfbvfhvbhfvbfhvghfvbhvvfbhvffhvbvbvbvvbvbvbvbvbvbv bchjechbchjavdcscahvjlaefvuhvlqedogucyeruheqhjfvllaveuhedqclugvclqusdgv hiddenHcsavdcvlhjsavjkcsdkjvacjkvhadcdkabjekhajdfcjhbldcqsljbhqsdclbhjqdcwljahsvdclqjhvsdqjvhlbdqlejvhbqblhjv ideclhjqdechjqdevblieqbVfbjIvfeebhifchibbchjdbchdbhcb cyufeagaefuoyvgefvhbofavdohjbvaohjdbodafjhbvvda c knob updated vibe advhbjo. I buvhofeqbiohvqefn calm ihovbfd cd ankbohiadvfbpkjdfvakpfavjfdvahobfavdhobhboadvfohjbd falcvdajhbljave