Jan Brett's The Nutcracker

The classic fairy-tale-ballet about a young girl and her adventures with a magical Nutcracker on Christmas Eve is retold by author/illustrator Jan Brett in this recent holiday picture book. Gifted a wooden nutcracker by her Uncle Drosselmeier, Marie joins him in an epic battle against the Mouse King, and then together they take a voyage into a wintry wonderland, guided by the Snow Princess. Here they see dances performed by various animals, enjoy a feast, before Marie finds herself awakening at home...

I had mixed feelings about Jan Brett's The Nutcracker, which was published in 2021 and is one of the creator's more recent Christmas books (of which there are many). On the one hand, the artwork is lovely, and full of many interesting show more details. As is often the case with Brett's illustrations, there are decorative borders (here supplied by snow) and side panels depicting additional scenes, as well as a wealth of animal characters, not just in the traditional scenes involving the Mouse King and his soldiers, but in the dancers—bears, foxes, hedgehogs—who perform for Marie and Nutcracker when they visit the Snow Princess's wintry realm. That said, I didn't care for the fact that the Sugar Plum Fairy was replaced by the Snow Princess, and while I understand why the tale was transplanted to Russia, given the fact that composer Tchaikovsky was Russian, I felt that this clashed somewhat with the German names and cultural traditions that were retained. This is a beautiful book, but I'm not sure I'd strongly recommend it as a retelling of Nutcracker, as there are far better picture book presentations out there. For a ballet-centered one, I'd recommend Susan Jeffers' The Nutcracker, and for the original E.T.A. Hoffmann fairy-tale, The Nutcracker & the Mouse King, adapted by Renate Raecke and illustrated by Yana Sedova. For a beautiful version suitable for younger children, with a simpler text adapted from both the fairy-tale and ballet, I recommend Niroot Puttapipat's The Nutcracker. show less

I loved this new book from the ever-talented Jan Brett. The illustrations are breathtaking. The main images on each page tell the classic story of ETA Hoffmann's Nutcracker, from Herr Drosselmeyer's figures to Marie's love for her nutcracker through the battle with the Mouse King and the journey through the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The illustrations are rich with color and detail, with new things to notice every time you read it. I was especially tickled to see the hedgehogs with the flowers on their prickles.

In Brett's classic style, there is also a story playing out in the side panels of each page. Part is details of what is to come or is happening along with the main page. The other parts show the animals in the orchestra, show more playing the music that goes along with the story.

I've seen comments about the lack of dancing and disappointment that it doesn't look like the ballet, so many people are familiar with. The story is based on the original by ETA Hoffmann, published in 1816, which was only adapted to ballet much later (1892). Brett herself says that it was the music that inspired her vision. Russia is the book's setting because the music invokes Ms. Brett's visits to Russia. In 1847, famous French author Alexandre Dumas rewrote Hoffmann's story, removing some of its darker elements and changing the name to Clara.

This is an outstanding addition to my collection of Brett books which I started around 1991. show less

Beautifully illustrated, richly detailed retelling of The Nutcracker. I love the details of animals playing musical instruments on each page.

I typically love Jan Brett's books, but this one didn't quite captivate me the same way. It was a fairly weak adaptation of "The Nutcracker."

gift from Sherryl Eastman 11/20/2025