The Nutcracker

One of my favourite ballets is The Nutcracker, and this time of year the story is such a wonderful reminder for the magic of Christmas. Last year I picked up a written version and promised myself I would read all of it before the season was over, but needless to say, I didn't. I read half but it is always tricky when you are already so familiar with the story to keep reading! And look a year has gone by! So this year, I WILL! To help me along I treated the children to a beautiful copy by Alison Jay. I really love her books, mainly as the artwork is so individual. We read it the other night and it was so beautiful. A really nice retelling of the story for children, much simpler but with gorgeous pictures. The imagination of Clara really comes through.

I really felt that this book could easily become one of our Christmas classics; a very well illustrated story that children will love as a token seasonal book but if they went to see the ballet when they were older they would have a simple understanding and be able to follow the story.

Look out for more new Christmas books I will be sharing!

Emily