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Many, many children know and love the Nutcracker story. Every year, in every city, countless ballet troupes, accompanied by Tchaikovsky's thrilling music, perform this Christmas classic about a girl who helps a wooden nutcracker man defeat a nasty army of mice and winds up in the magical dreamworld of the Land of Toys. But the ballet leaves a few questions unanswered. How did the Nutcracker and the King of Mice become such mortal enemies? And how did the Nutcracker turn into a handsome prince? Acclaimed children's author and editor Janet Schulman (
The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury) adapts E.T.A Hoffman's 1816 original, faintly sinister, tale and helps answer these questions. The lines between good and evil are drawn less sharply than in the familiar ballet, and more attention is paid to all that happens before the ultimate battle between the toys and the mice. The King of Mice, by the way, is a nightmare-inducing seven-headed fiend. Renée Graef's warm, old-fashioned artwork softens the scarier aspects of this exciting edition of
The Nutcracker, which includes a full-length CD featuring Tchaikovsky's music and a narration of the story by celebrated actress Claire Bloom. Schulman's version is bound to become a happy holiday tradition for the entire family. (Ages 5 and older)
-- Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
Though many children are familiar with the Nutcracker ballet, Schulman's (The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury) more complete version of Hoffman's "The Nutcracker and the King of Mice" will keep young readers on their toes. This vivid tale of intrigue, wicked curses and rodents hot on revenge satisfyingly reveals why the Mouse King and the Nutcracker were such bitter enemies. The text was originally published in 1979; kids and parents will like the way it's presented here, with a CD containing actress Claire Bloom's reading of the story and selections of Tchaikovsky's music, and with Graef's slightly dark, antique-flavored paintings, themselves spiced with 19th-century decorations, toys and sweets. All ages. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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