Nutcracker (Creative Editions) [Hardcover]

E.T.A. Hoffmann (Author), Roberto Innocenti (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996 | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Creative Editions

Readers of all ages will be enchanted by the stories within stories that are as intricate as the toys constructed by Godfather Drosselmeir in this famous Christmas story. Award-winning artist Roberto Innocenti's illustrations are equally resplendent and complex.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Hot stuff for Christmas: a version of the immortal Nutcracker by famed illustrator Innocenti, who will launch a two-year national tour of his work this fall.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 136 pages
• Publisher: Creative Editions (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151002274
• ISBN-13: 978-0151002276
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 10.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,085,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the book behind the ballet, February 16, 2004

By 

Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Nutcracker (Creative Editions) (Hardcover)

"The Nutcracker" ballet has been a Christmas season tradition for decades, but the book is less known. It is a blend of the dream world and reality, with Godfather Drosselmeier, who was "small and thin, with a sea of wrinkles on his face", manipulating these fantastic fantasies. The story centers around little Marie, and The Nutcracker who comes to life, to battle the Mouse King.
There is no Santa Claus on Christmas Eve in this tale, but it is the Christ Child who visits children "on his shining wings" and brings them presents.

E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822), who also wrote tales that inspired the Offenbach opera "Tales of Hoffmann" (which later became a film with wonderful dancing by Moira Shearer), wrote The Nutcracker in 1816, and this translation from the German by Major Alex Ewing was first published in 1886.
Hoffmann was one of the first writers to use the horror/fantasy genre to such great effect, and was an influence on Edgar Allan Poe, among others.

Roberto Innocenti's illustrations are perhaps the prime reason to purchase this book. A self-taught artist, Innocenti has worked in animation, and his artistic magic has graced several books.
Innocenti's work is extraordinary, most of it in a somber mood, with exquisite detail and sense of perspective. The people in them look wan and a little sad, and his color palette is subdued, primarily shades of brown, with slate blue and dusty rose accents. His mice are marvelous, and the piece on page 65, of two mice being captured in a cage, with his relatives bemoaning their fate, is brilliant. This is when "Dame Mouselinks fled this scene of horror. Sorrow and rage filled her heart".

With thick semi-gloss pages, and a lovely layout with double-spaced print for easy reading, this is an interesting book for ballet enthusiasts, and fans of Innocenti's work, but might be too dark for young children, and those afflicted with musophobia (fear of mice) beware !

3 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book is as good as the movie, August 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Nutcracker (Creative Editions) (Hardcover)

I love The Nutcracker I read The Nutcracker in school I think you'll love this and I hope you will like the movie The Nutcracker. it good for watching at Christmas time. I recommend you get this. smiles :) and don't frown :( just be really happy :)))).