|
| |  | Literature & Fiction | Home » » » Nutcracker | | | | | | | Description: | | After hearing how her toy nutcracker got his ugly face, a little girl helps break the spell and watches him change into a handsome prince. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| E.T.A. Hoffmann | | Hardcover:
| 120 pages | | Publisher:
| Gramercy | | Publication Date:
| September 13, 1984 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 051755285X | | Package Length:
| 10.0 inches | | Package Width:
| 9.9 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.0 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.9 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 9 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
 One of my favorite books of all time.Mar 15, 2009
My mother bought this book for me when I was 7 and it's been in my top five favorite books ever since. The illustrations, the language and the story are all beautiful. I've been a ballet dancer since I was 3 and growing up, I was in many productions of The Nutcracker. I adore the ballet but the whole story is so much more fascinating and complicated. It makes you look at the ballet and the more famous and shortened story in a different light. I think this book would be great for kids, it will teach them more vocabulary, the pictures will stimulate their imaginations and the story is darker, but not too dark or scary, so that will show kids that not everything is black and white and that things can be complicated. Kids past a certain age should begin to learn and understand that not everything in life is beautiful and good... and this book is a very soft and easy way to introduce that concept to a sheltered little kid. E.T.A. Hoffmann was incredibly creative and a great storyteller and Maurice Sendak is just brilliant.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Exceptional Christmas StoryJan 20, 2009
E.T.A. Hoffmann's "Nutcracker" tells the classic story of a young girl's transformation from youth to adulthood. Maurice Sendak created the beautiful characters and artwork throughout this book, and he also designed the costumes and theatrical sets for the Pacific Ballet Company's version (available on VHS).
I highly recommend this book to young and old alike. It is a truly exceptional treasure to enjoy with friends and loved ones at this special time of year.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
My childhood favoriteNov 27, 2007
When I was about five, my father would read to me from this book every night at bedtime and it is one of my fondest memories of my childhood. One year he took me to see the Nutcracker Ballet and I remembered the whole story from this book. Now that I am a mother, I looked for this book for my own daughter and immediately recognized the cover even though it has been over 20 years! I was so pleasantly surprised to realize it was Maurice Sendak who had illustrated it. He is also the author of my other favorite book from my youth, Outside Over There, of which I have a signed first edition that I will pass on to my daughter. I was sad to have lost track of this book, but delighted to have tracked it down again. I hope my daughter cherishes it as much as I did, and I look forward to reading it to her when she is a bit older.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Wonderful memoriesNov 17, 2007
When I was young, about eight or nine years old, I desperately wanted to be a ballerina and dance in the Nutcracker. My family had gone to see a production the year before and when we went that year, I begged for a Nutcracker all my own. My mom said no, but if I asked "Santa" for one, maybe there would be one at Christmas. Well, I did, and there was none under the tree on Christmas morning. Little did I know that my aunt had was about to give me a signed copy of this book, and a Nutcracker to go with it. I will never forget curling up on the couch Christmas night, Nutcracker under one arm, and was transported to a distant land as I read and was lost in the wonderful illustrations. To this day, many years later, I still enjoy getting this book out at Christmas time and curling up on the couch. The drawings are wonderful and to this day they draw me in. It is a beautiful book, one I have cherished for many years, and one that I hope to share with my children some day.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Great for ALL ages!Dec 30, 2006
When I was a child I had this book , as well as two audio tape versions of the story. ( one read by Claire Bloom, the other by Christopher Plummer, both are great!) If you go to see the ballet without knowing the backstory it doesn't make much sense.
I also totally disagree that the book ( and the audio versions for that matter) are only good for older children and adults. While the language may be more complex than some story books there is no reason why a young child can't understand it. If parents expose their children to more sophisticated language then they learn it. Toomany books, cds, tv shows etc... talk down to children! If a child is never exposed to language then they can't learn it. My mother and father never talked down or baby talked to me, and exposed me to a wide variety of books, when I was 2 I said "I presume...." in answer to a question my mother asked me. LOL :-)
Just a though.
| | |
Huge Savings!
|  | | Look out for the Open Box Items and Grab'em before they're gone! |
|
