Would-be ballerina Tallulah, whose story began in Tallulah's Tutu, and then continued in Tallulah's Solo and Tallulah's Toe Shoes, returns in this fourth picture-book devoted to her dancing adventures. Thrilled to be given the part of a mouse in a professional production of The Nutcracker, Tallulah devotes herself to being the best mouse she can, missing seasonal parties and the family Christmas tree expedition in order to practice. Being Tallulah, and a little given to grandiose dreams, she becomes a little puffed up with the importance of being in a professional ballet. Then on opening night, she trips onstage, causing a multiple-mouse pile-up. Terribly distraught, Tallulah is convinced she is the worst dancer ever, until her dance master and two of the stars of the ballet persuade her that it isn't the absence of mistakes that makes a dancer, but the ability to carry on.

As with its predecessors, Tallulah's Nutcracker is an immensely engaging tale, one which captures its young heroine's emotional ups and downs, her tendency to be a little self-centered, to become a little vain at the first sign of success, but also her ability to grow and change, her willingness to learn, when her shortcomings (inevitably) come to the fore. I found the conclusion, in which the dance master and the ballerinas who played Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy comfort Tallulah, and help to show her that making mistakes is an inevitable part of being a dancer (and a person), to be quite moving. The artwork by Alexandra Boiger, done in watercolor, is charming, with an appealing color palette and delightful little details, from the glitter on the cover to the ballet poses Tallulah demonstrates on the end-papers. Recommended to young ballet lovers, and to anyone who enjoyed the previous Tallulah books. ( )