Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
HarperCollins (2017), 32 pages
Description
In Harlem in the 1920s, in the middle of a family Christmas party, Marie receives a nutcracker from her Uncle Cab, which leads to a marvelous dream in this resetting of E.T.A. Hoffmann's familiar tale. Includes historical notes.
User reviews
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Author T.E. McMorrow spins the story of Marie, a young girl during the Harlem Renaissance who must learn to join in the music around her, in this African-American adaptation of the classic German holiday tale, The Nutcracker. Although she loves the jazz musicians who are attending her parents'
Apparently inspired by McMorrow's time working as a stagehand for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Nutcracker in Harlem is a fairly faithful retelling of the first section of E.T.A. Hoffman's Christmas fairy-tale Nussknacker und Mausekönig ("The Nutcracker and the Mouse King"), originally published in 1816. The main change - Marie uses the drum to help defeat the Mouse King, rather than throwing her shoe at him - has great significance for the larger themes of the story, which highlights the importance of music and musical expression, in the life of the heroine and her community. I enjoyed McMorrow's narrative, which is quite poetic at times, and found James Ransome's watercolor artwork beautiful. Recommended to Nutcrcacker fans looking for something a little different, as well as to anyone searching for children's stories set during the Harlem Renaissance.
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grand Christmas party, Marie is shy about singing with them. Then her Uncle Cab gives her a toy nutcracker, and she has a magical dream in which the Nutcracker battles a menacing Mouse King. Marie herself plays an important role in the battle, discovering the musical talent - drumming - that will allow her to enter into the world of music around her, once she is awake again...Apparently inspired by McMorrow's time working as a stagehand for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Nutcracker in Harlem is a fairly faithful retelling of the first section of E.T.A. Hoffman's Christmas fairy-tale Nussknacker und Mausekönig ("The Nutcracker and the Mouse King"), originally published in 1816. The main change - Marie uses the drum to help defeat the Mouse King, rather than throwing her shoe at him - has great significance for the larger themes of the story, which highlights the importance of music and musical expression, in the life of the heroine and her community. I enjoyed McMorrow's narrative, which is quite poetic at times, and found James Ransome's watercolor artwork beautiful. Recommended to Nutcrcacker fans looking for something a little different, as well as to anyone searching for children's stories set during the Harlem Renaissance.
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LibraryThing member GRgenius
This was a DELIGHTFUL surprise to find on my doorstep this holiday. I've enjoyed several versions of this wonderful holiday story over the years and it never fails to amaze me how they manage to come up with some new version that still captures the magic of the original, yet brings its own dose of
**copy received for review
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holiday fun. Take this one for example...it adds a jazzy flair to the story of old with a leading little lady trying to find her voice in a time when the rhythm was what you made of it. Watching Marie become ensnared in the battle between the soldiers and the Rat King, seeing her dismay when it seemed like all was lost, and then triumphantly taking up for the little drummer boy nutcracker...why it weaved its own web of magic and wonder that'll capture hearts and minds for many seasons to come.**copy received for review
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Awards
CCBC Choices (2018)
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
32 p.; 10 inches
ISBN
0061175986 / 9780061175985