As a child I took ballet class and was enamored with all things ballet. Every year my mom, grandmother, sister and I would get tickets to a ballet production of the Nutcracker and it was such a magical way to start the Holiday Season. As an adult, my love for the Nutcracker is as strong as ever and the nostalgia it brings is wonderful.
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Now that I have a daughter of my own I am thrilled that she is showing an interest in ballet. She is taking classes and preparing to dance in her first production of the Nutcracker. I couldn’t be more excited to start this tradition with her! One of the ways that we are both preparing and celebrating is by reading retelling of the story of the Nutcracker. Below are some of our favorite editions that we have found that are each truly spectacular in their own right.
“The Nutcracker” by Niroot Puttapipat- This edition of the Nutcracker has beautiful illustrations throughout and a delightful surprise ending of a detailed pop-up scene. It really has a lot of “wow” factor and is sure to impress.
“The Nutcracker: A Papercut Pop-Up Book” by Shobhna Patel- This long and thin edition features the occasional pop-up that is so beautiful and unique in nature. They stand up really tall and feature lacey, cut-out details. They look like beautiful pop-up ornaments that enchanted the story.
‘The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker” by Katy Flint and Jessica Courtney-Tickle- This beauty is from a series that has music note buttons to press throughout that will play a selection of the music associated with that part of the play/ballet/musical. It is so special and we adore it.
“Waltz of the Snowflakes” by Elly MacKay- This edition is a stunning wordless book that shows the Nutcracker ballet through the eyes of a young girl. It is such a unique take and definitely has a magical feel to it.
“The Nutcracker” by New York City Ballet and Valeria Docampo- This edition not only has lovely illustatrations, but the illustrations and storyline both are representative of the New York Ballet production of The Nutcracker. It makes this an extra special book and a perfect pairing with fans of the ballet. (I love that it includes some random trivia facts about the NYC Ballet production of The Nutcracker in the back.)
Board Book Editions
“The Nutcracker: A Babylit Dancing Primer”by Jennifer Adams and Alison Oliver- This board book is a primer, so the story isn’t told. However, we get to see some favorite characters and bits of the story and introduce them to the youngest of bookworms. Win!
“The Nutcracker” by E.T.A Hoffman and Don Daily- This board book retelling of the Nutcracker has the most traditional and fantastic illustrations and contains a fair amount of text that does a wonderful job retelling the story. I love this one!
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