Customer Reviews

The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet (Pictureback(R))

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was in first grade in the late 80's and we were doing a unit on the nutcracker. We went to go see the play and did a lot of music, art and english activities related to it. I was enjoying it so much that my mom bought me a copy of this book, same cover and all. I really loved the illustrations in it, from the christmas decorations to the land of sweets to all the snow. I've misplaced my copy but if I ever do find it it's a keeper!

Although many versions of the ballet call the girl Clara, she is called Marie Stahlbaum in the original E.T.A. Hoffmann story and in some versions of the ballet. This retelling is lovely. The name "Marie" is not incorrect; it just refers back to an earlier version of the story.

In reference to the next review, Marie and Clara are not the same character. Marie is the little girl, and Clara is her doll.

This book is beautifully illustrated and the story is an abreviated version of the origional which is nice for young children. My only complaint is that the character "Clara" is called "Marie" which is very confusing to children (and adults).

If taking little ballerinas to their first production of the Nutcracker. . .this is an ideal book to read ahead of time so they can follow the story! The illustrations are lovely and the book faithfully follows the ballet!

This was a simple story telling about the little girl who received a Nutcracker for Christmas and the magical events that happened.

I loved the Nutcracker story because I learned things that I didn't know before I saw the musical. It was a gift from a great friend and their awesome daughter and they're the coolest friends in the world.

I bought this book to read with my 4 year old before I took her to the ballet so she would know what was going on. The art work is amazing and the story is told very well. It has more words than she is used to reading in a book, but it held her attention to the end. I would recommend it to someone with kids younger than elementary school age.

In response to the lady disappointed/confused because this little girl's name was "Marie", instead of "Clara". Both names are correct, and Marie is actually a bit more correct. This isn't the only book that uses Marie instead of Clara; and different ballets use one or the other of the names. Regardless, this version is delightful, and one of the better versions for children wanting to learn about the Nutcracker, or revisit a beloved story. I teach second grade, and highly recommend this book!

I recognized the cover of this book as being the one i read when i was a kid, but i also remember it coming with an audio cassette that read the words aloud and played tchaikovsky's music in the background. do editions like that still exist?