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A classic Christmas tale with breathtaking illustrations by An Leysen! It's Christmas Eve and Clara and her brother Fritz are excited! Every year, uncle Drosselmeier brings them special Christmas gifts. This year, Clara gets a wooden soldier. It's a nutcracker and Fritz thinks he looks a bit silly, but Clara falls in love with his big and kind eyes. And that night, she discovers her new friend can do a lot more than just crack nuts. He used to be a brave soldier who fell in love with a real princess.... In this magical picture book, An Leysenn gives the classic Christmas story by E.T.A. Hoffmann a new look. Her evocative art will transport you to the wonderful world of the mean mouse king and the beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy. For children ages 5 and up, and for everyone who loves fairy tales!… (more)
User reviews
Leysen seems to have based her presentation of The Nutcracker more on the original story, as told by E.T.A. Hoffmann (and then Alexandre Dumas, père), than on the later ballet. She has included the back story, explaining how the Nutcracker came to be cursed, and focuses more on the resolution of that story, than on the visit to the land of sweets, which is only briefly described. Here the Sugar Plum Fairy's role is largely that of lifting the curse. Given that all of this is so, I was surprised that Leysen used the name Clara for her heroine, rather than Marie, as the former is associated almost exclusively with the ballet, and the latter with the original fairy-tale. However that may be, I enjoyed this telling, and I enjoyed the gorgeous artwork, which alternates between beautifully colorful spreads and those done in a sort of sepia-toned outline. Recommended to fans of the artist, and to anyone looking for beautiful picture-book presentations of this story.