Lord of the Nutcracker Men [Turtleback]

Iain Lawrence (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2002

A young boy gradually comes to understand the difference between his toy soldiers and the bloodshed of the First World War in this poignant story. Ten-year-old Johnny loves the army of nutcracker soldiers his toymaker father whittles for him. Johnny eagerly plays at war, demolishing imaginary foes. But in 1914, war with Germany looms, and all too soon Johnny's father is swept up in the war to end all wars as he proudly enlists to fight at the front in France. Johnny believes his father will be back in a few months, in time to celebrate Christmas with him and his mum. But the war is nothing like any soldier or person at home expected. It is brutal and horrific. The letters that arrive from Johnny's dad reveal the ugly realities of combat -- and the soldiers he carves and encloses begin to bear its scars. Still, Johnny adds these soldiers to his armies of Huns, Tommies, and Frenchmen, engaging them in furious battle out in the muddy garden. His war games bind him to the father he longs to see again. But when these games seem to foretell his dad's real battles, Johnny thinks he possesses godlike powers over his wooden men. He fears he controls his father's fate, the lives of all the soldiers in no-man's-land, and the outcome of the war itself. In this haunting and poignant tale, Iain Lawrence explores the irrationality of war and its effect on lives that are all too fragile.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

War idealistic, brutal, awe inspiring, numbing, jingoistic and ultimately heartbreaking is the central theme of this thoughtful and thought-provoking novel. The Great War has begun, and Johnny watches his kindly toymaker father turn against the German shopkeepers and neighbors in the family's London community. Soon after his father joins the army and travels to France to fight, Johnny is sent to live with his curmudgeonly Auntie Ivy in a small town on the south coast of England. Most chapters begin with a letter from Johnny's father, and from these the boy (and readers) derive an increasingly complex and horrifying vision of life in the trenches. Accompanying each letter, and providing vivid illustration of the events described in the missive, is a wooden soldier carved by Johnny's father, which the boy adds to the ranks of his toy army. As the weeks go by, Johnny entertains himself by staging vast battles with this army, until in a series of scenes that unflinchingly convey a child's conflicting feelings of omnipotence and vulnerability he grows to fear that his play is somehow magically affecting his father's life at the front and, indeed, the entire war. His father's account of the Christmas Truce of 1914 and Johnny's own role in reuniting a grieving family with a shell-shocked soldier are among the events that bring the novel to its solemn, yet quietly hopeful, close. Both its timing and its message are eerily resonant. Ages 10-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-In 1914, 10-year-old Johnny enjoys playing with the nutcracker soldiers his toymaker father has made for him. World War I seems distant until people he knows are sent away, and then his father joins the British army. When the bombing starts in London, the boy is sent to live with his aunt in the country. He dislikes the small town, misses his parents and friends, and is uncomfortable living with a relative whom he does not know well. He escapes his troubles by playing in the garden with the toy soldiers, adding the new one his father sends with each letter. Initially Johnny's father is upbeat and glorifies army life, but after he is sent to the front, he writes of the endless rain and mud, the rats, the shooting, and the tense waiting. Each soldier he creates becomes more and more full of the pain of war until one arrives that is so ghastly that Johnny's aunt throws it in the fire. As the boy becomes lost in his play world, he becomes convinced that the battles he puts his "men" through affect the real battles on the front. Using vivid language, Lawrence writes poignantly of war and the devastation that England and its people suffered. Because of the first-person voice, readers travel the heights and depths with Johnny's emotions and feel present in the story. Readers who enjoyed Michelle Magorian's Good Night, Mr. Tom (HarperCollins, 1982), set during World War II, will find a kindred story here.

Cheri Estes, Detroit Country Day Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Turtleback
• Publisher: Demco Media (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0606283196
• ISBN-13: 978-0606283199
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dance dance, wherever you may be, February 15, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lord of the Nutcracker Men (Readers Circle) (Mass Market Paperback)

When I rule the world every man, woman, and child will be handed a copy of Iain Lawrence's brilliant "Lord of the Nutcracker Men" for their home library. Every country in the world will have it translated. And every human being will know it. Too high praise for a book that so few people (let alone librarians and booksellers) have heard of? Not at all. The amount of reception a book receives is not always indicative of how good it is. And this book is good. Boy oh boy, is it good.

Taking the perspective of a ten-year-old boy during the first year of World War One, Iain Lawrence draws on his own knowledge (and intense research as well) to bring us a story of children during wartime. Johnny's father is a toy maker, and before going to fight the front lines he gives Johnny a set of handsome Nutcracker men to play with. As the war continues, Johnny's father sends his son hand-carved soldier to fight the German Nutcrackers. But Johnny comes to believe these soldiers carry a power beyond his own private games. As he plays with his toys he hears of battles frighteningly similar to the ones he's created. Soon Johnny comes to believe that the actions he takes in playing influence the real battles in France.

This book is about war. The dirt, fatigue, and mindlessness of it. Drawing on the Iliad, Lawrence draws definitive connections between Troy and World War One that are eerily credible. As Johnny moves from loving the excitement of war (as a child does) to hating it (as an adult would) his opinion of fate, the gods, and God himself waver between fear and love. Beautifully written passages display his father's disillusionment as he deals with constant shelling, death, and despair. Though he never comes out and says it, the audience understands that this war really did mark the end of chivalry. Certainly we remember some dashing figures from this time. The Red Baron. Lawrence of Arabia. But for most soldiers it was a dirty filthy war. Based on dirt alone I highly recommend pairing this book with Karen Hesse's "Out of the Dust". You'll never want to leave your shower again.

After the story, Lawrence clears up many of the facts portrayed within the story, elevating it from interesting fiction to a novella based in reality. Yes, there really was a Christmas Truce of 1914 where Germans and Brits climbed out of their trenches into the No Man's Land to celebrate Christmas together. Yes the village of Cliffe had their railway bombed by the Germans. Lawrence also notes that the supernatural was invoked more than a few times during the long years of the war. This feeling is well replicated in his book. The story wavers between what is real and what is imagined brilliantly. It never changes its tone (which is to say, it never starts out as a historical drama and suddenly turns sci-fi) and there are moments of otherworldliness that are nothing if not poignant.

It is a gory story. It has moments of horror and despair. But it is also an honest story. This tells a tale of a country in which war was seen as a glorious outing, only to turn into more death than anyone could have ever imagined. Sound familiar? When governments can make war seem wonderful, people will buy into the myth. It takes books like, "Lord of the Nutcracker Men" to remind us of what's really important in life.

"We're getting better at fighting wars. We've got them running like machines now: faster, more efficient."
"I wish we'd get better at not fighting them," I said.
"That's a fine thought," said Mr. Tuttle.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lord of the Nutcracker Men, October 6, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Lord of the Nutcracker Men (Readers Circle) (Mass Market Paperback)

Johnny is a ten year old boy growing up during a difficult time. His favorite pastime is

playing with the toy soldiers that his father, a popular toymaker in London makes for him.

One day he gets the terrible news that his father must leave their home and go fight in

World War I, and he must stay at his Aunt Ivy's house. As the war between the Allies and the

Central Powers intensify, Johnny's father sends him toy soildiers, and eventually makes one

of himself. Throughout the novel, Johnny plays intense battles with his friend Sarah, until one

day he realizes that the battles that he fights are the same as the battles that his father writes

about. He also finds the figure of his dad and thinks he can see the future. Johnny is tutored

by his teacher, Mr. Tuttle, and soon talks with a commander who has lost his mind. Finding out

that this person is supposed to be dead, Johnny seeks the answers of his life that is right

outside his window, until his father finally comes back home. Lord of the Nutcracker Men is a

fantastic novel by Iain Lawrence. It is a book that anyone will easily get caught up in reading.

Lord of the Nutcracker Men has an excellent plot that has numerous twists and will

keep anyone on edge. In the middle of the novel, Johnny sees a commander walking around

the trench where he plays with his toy soldiers. After the man mysteriously vanishes, Johnny

comes across a picture of him. The man, whose name is Murdoch, is supposedly dead.

Meanwhile, when Johnny is playing with his soldiers, he notices the toy soldier version of his

father has turned gray and pale, almost as if his life has been knocked out of him.

Remembering that all of the battles that he had fought were exactly like the ones his father fought,

Johnny is worried that something will happen to him or already has.

Lord of the Nutcracker Men is for those who like suspense, but is also for people who

like to read historical fiction. The novel takes place in the beginning of World War I, and has

a lot of information packed in the pages. In the early chapters of the book, Johnny is picked on

by a gang of bullies during Guy Fawkes day, a holiday celebrated by the English. Also,

his father is fighting on the war front in France, when on Christmas Day in 1914, a truce

occured between the Germans and the British. Even though the book has so many facts that

you might get lost on some parts, the story that tells how Johnny lives through the war is amazing.

The main character in Lord of the Nutcracker Men, Johnny, has the perfect character

traits. This ten-year old boy is highly intelligent, and hopes for his father to beat the odds against

the Germans. Johnny also speaks what he thinks, which sometimes gets him into deep trouble,

as when he says he sees Murdoch, a person who is supposed to be dead, and really isn't.

However, the number one trait that Johnny has is endurance. He uses this trait throughout

the novel to escape hardships, such as his dad fighting in France for such a long time, and

having to live with Aunt Ivy, who can be very stern. Johnny is a very special young boy.

Lord of the Nutcracker Men by Iain Lawrence, is an excellent book that everyone should

read if they like action and suspense all in one. I rate this book a grand total of four stars out of

five.

A. Chappell

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars LE, April 2, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Lord of the Nutcracker Men (Readers Circle) (Mass Market Paperback)

The book I chose was called Lord of the Nutcracker Men. My Opinion of this book is that it was pretty good. I thought it was sad because so many people died. I am making this recommondation because I thought the book was really fun to read and it had a happy ending. If you like war books, this is the book for you. I think it's a really exciting book.

The book is about a boy named Johnny. His dad has to go off to war with France against Germany in World War One. The boy has to move to his Aunt's house because it's safer and his mother has to work and make things for the war. Johnny is stuck with his Aunt who is really mean and nice at the same time. In the book she calls him stupid and idiot and other mean things. Sometimes shes crying in his arms and hugging him. Every time Johnny would get a letter from his dad there would be a toy soilder with it that his dad carved for him. Johnny would set them up and battle with them. His soilders were real. In the book everytime Johnny had a battle the samething would happen in the real war. Johnny found this out later in the book. On one of the letters his father sent back it said on Christmas there was no fighting just singing and partying.

My favorite part in the book is when Johnny gets his toy soilders from his dad, I like that part because it's a really nice and happy part. My least favorite part is the war because so many people die. I don't like killing. In conclusion, I think this book was a really good book. It shows you how bad war really is. I think you should read this book.