Barbie in the Nutcracker [Hardcover]

Robert G. Sauber (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

Barbie stars in the story of the popular ballet in which a little girl's love for the Nutcracker brings him to life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Let's just say that liberties have been taken with this retelling. Barbie stars as Clara, of course dolled up in pink flounces and lace, and coifed within an inch of her blonde Malibu life. Hoffman's holiday tale is almost unrecognizable, with Clara/Barbie and the Nutcracker setting off on a quest to reverse a shrinking spell cast by the Mouse King. Along the way they meet such creatures as Major Mint, Colonel Candy and Marzipan (a purple horse with Barbie-like tresses). When Clara/Barbie's new friends are kidnapped by the Mouse King, she rescues them in one anticlimactic sentence ("When Clara reached the castle, she sneaked inside and saved her friends"). The chirpy text depends as heavily on exclamation marks to generate excitement as Sauber's overwrought illustrations do on shades of pink and purple. Given the merchandising power behind the star, this saccharine performance may be the only exposure many children will have to a tale whose timeless magic deserves better. Ages 4-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Pleasant Company Publications; First Edition edition (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584853867
• ISBN-13: 978-1584853862
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Barbie in the Nutcracker, January 24, 2007

By 

E. Butler "Mom of two" (Las Cruces, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Barbie in the Nutcracker (Hardcover)

It's such a truly beautiful book; the artwork and the storyline are really well done. Our book has now become a family heirloom; we took it the Nutcracker Ballet performance and had all the dancers autograph it. Everyone wanted to know where I had gotten this book! It comes with a slick cover jacket that can really take a beating, and the book is large sized to make it really easy to read to several children at once. Bought several to give as Christmas gifts for fellow ballet class attendees with my daughter. That went over like gangbusters!!

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book, November 3, 2001

By 

rebecca h dunham (Cincinnati, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barbie in the Nutcracker (Hardcover)

My mom bought this book for my 2 yr old daughter & she LOVES it! She carries it around with her. She has the movie but it would not be necessary. Any child that likes Barbie would love this book. The pictures are very pretty & the reading is not so overwhelming that a young child gets bored. A very good book especially if you'd like to "sneak" a book in with all the X-mas toys.