ALA Booklist

The opening illustration, of Marie and her brother, Fritz, peering through the crack between two doors, conveys the sense of a stage setting, appropriately inviting readers into a story they may already know from seeing a production of this ever-popular ballet. Spinner retells the story of the Christmas party and Marie's dream of the Nutcracker and Mouse King in a concise but lyrical text. Malone's traditional yet spirited paintings, in muted colors and period dress, add elegance and pay homage to both E. T. A. Hoffman's story and Tchaikovsky's music. An accompanying CD rounds out a delightful package.

Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

In this retelling of the New York City Ballet version of E. T. A. Hoffmann's story, Malone's richly colored, opaque watercolors embellish the dancers' magic. This book, which comes with a CD, provides a good entry-point before attending a performance as well as a chance to relive the experience afterward.

Kirkus Reviews

Children preparing to attend a holiday performance of The Nutcracker will find this a helpful introduction to the beloved ballet. The text follows the ballet's plot in straightforward chronological order, but this retelling ends (a little too soon) with Marie (and her prince) still in the Land of Sweets, just before Marie wakes up from her dream. The smoothly written story introduces all the major characters and dancers and includes dialogue that helps to clarify the plot. Malone's watercolor illustrations are done in a muted palette with hazy lighting, emphasizing the 19th-century setting and the mysterious, dreamy aspects of the story; the colors and lighting brighten to delineate the magical nature of the Land of Sweets. Some of the main characters are illustrated more as actors in a play rather than as ballet dancers; the Sugar Plum Fairy, for example, is shown as a fairy with wings and bare feet, rather than as a ballerina with pointe shoes. A full-page author's note gives a brief performance history of the ballet, and a fully orchestrated CD of the complete ballet is included. (Picture book. 4-8)

School Library Journal (Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

K-Gr 4 Each holiday season seems to generate a new batch of picture-book versions of The Nutcracker . This edition adds little to the selections already in most collections. The relatively lengthy text tells the complete story of the ballet. Malones exquisite watercolors depict a late-18th-century household in which a generous godfather presents his rather odd gifts of life-sized dolls and a small nutcracker figure that come alive in Claras dream. An authors endnote gives the history of the ballet. A CD of the score performed by the Utah Symphony Orchestra is included. Virginia Walter, University of California, Los Angeles