Nutcracker Ballet

"For the first time, this beloved holiday story is told based on George Balanchine's quintessential production. The storyline mimics the choreography of the famous ballet and the illustrations are inspired by the backdrops and scenery from the actual New York City Ballet production"--

It's Christmas Eve and young Clara is about to have a magical night-filled with scrumptious sweets, majestic music, and the most beautiful dancing she's ever seen! Make the classic story of the Nutcracker come to life with this book, theater, and paper doll playset. Read along in the storybook as your paper doll characters (more than 35 of them!) dance their way through three different fold-out stages-Clara's living room, the Enchanted Forest, and the Land of Sweets. And when you're done, place the dolls and storybook in the handy storage envelopes for safekeeping until the next performance! Fun for all ages! Available in August.

The delightful story of a little girl's love for an enchanted nutcracker comes to life with the help of a few crayons, felt-tip pens, or other coloring media. All the wonderful characters and scenes are here: Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum house: Clara, together with the Nutcracker Prince; the dancing Sugar Plum Fairy, adventures in Toyland, and more. Lovers of the beloved holiday tale as well as ballet fans of all ages will treasure this captivating collection of drawings.

The Nutcracker is the most popular ballet in the world, adopted and adapted by hundreds of communities across the United States and Canada every Christmas season. In this entertainingly informative book, Jennifer Fisher offers new insights into the Nutcracker phenomenon, examining it as a dance scholar and critic, a former participant, an observer of popular culture, and an interviewer of those who dance, present, and watch the beloved ballet. Fisher traces The Nutcracker’s history from its St. Petersburg premiere in 1892 through its emigration to North America in the mid-twentieth century to the many productions of recent years. She notes that after it was choreographed by another Russian immigrant to the New World, George Balanchine, the ballet began to thrive and variegate: Hawaiians added hula, Canadians added hockey, Mark Morris set it in the swinging sixties, and Donald Byrd placed it in Harlem. The dance world underestimates The Nutcracker at its peril, Fisher suggests, because the ballet is one of its most powerfully resonant traditions. After starting life as a Russian ballet based on a German tale about a little girl’s imagination, The Nutcracker has become a way for Americans to tell a story about their communal values and themselves.

New York Times–bestselling artist and Caldecott Honor winner Susan Jeffers has created a Nutcracker as only she can—with lavish illustrations, magnificent detail, and enchanting holiday scenes on every page. This is The Nutcracker as you’ve never seen it before! Join Marie, Fritz, and the intriguing Nutcracker himself on a magical Christmas Eve adventure. Behold the frightful Mouse King, the elegant Sugar Plum fairies, and the entire Land of Sweets in this dazzling, gorgeously illustrated holiday classic. With spare text based on the story in the ballet, this book offers a front-row seat to the enthralling tale that is a perennial favorite of adults and children alike. And for Susan Jeffers fans looking for extra content, an author’s note is included at the end of the book, in which she explains what inspired her to turn this holiday tradition into a show-stopping picture book.

On Christmas Eve, a little girl helps break the spell on her wooden nutcracker and watches him turn into a handsome prince, who takes her to his kingdom in the Land of Sweets.

A reimagined and modern take on the holiday favorite, this picture book weaves together the classic Christmas tale of The Nutcracker and the true-life story of 12-year-old ballerina Charlotte Nebres, the first Black girl to play Marie in the New York City Ballet’s production. The only thing Charlotte loves as much as ballet is Christmas. So, when she gets the opportunity to play Marie in the New York City Ballet's The Nutcracker, she leaps at the chance. Dancing takes practice-hours of adjusting her arms and perfecting her jumps. With the help of her Trinidadian and Filipino families, encouragement from her sister, and a view of her mom and dad in the audience, Charlotte finds the strength to never give up. In this spectacular debut full of fluid, dynamic illustrations, Charlotte provides youngsters with a multicultural tale of family, dance, and holiday cheer.