Jan Brett's The Nutcracker
  • Published: 19 January 2022
  • ISBN: 9780593109823
  • Imprint: Putnam
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 32
  • RRP: $37.99

Jan Brett's The Nutcracker

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Jan Brett's striking illustrations and the Christmas classic The Nutcracker are a match made in picture book heaven.

Jan Brett's striking illustrations and the Christmas classic The Nutcracker are a match made in picture book heaven.

When Marie and her brother Fritz receive a special Christmas nutcracker from their uncle, Marie immediately feels something magical. "He looks like a real boy," she mused. "A real boy with a secret, who came from far away."

This feeling is only the beginning of the epic adventure she goes on with the Nutcracker—into the cabinet, through the battle with the mice, and finally to the magical land of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Jan Brett makes this classic her own by setting it in snowy Russia and adding whimsical touches to the favorite elements of the traditional ballet. Enjoying this book will be an instant Christmas tradition for families who love the ballet and those new to the story.
As perfect a gift as Jan Brett's classics The Mitten and The Night Before Christmas.
  • Published: 19 January 2022
  • ISBN: 9780593109823
  • Imprint: Putnam
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 32
  • RRP: $37.99
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About the author

Jan Brett

With over thirty seven million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the USA's foremost author illustrators of children's books.

Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.

As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, 'I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real.'

As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. 'It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain,' she says. 'I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting.'

Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. 'From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books.'

Also by Jan Brett

Jan Brett's Winter Collection Box Set
Cozy in Love
Cozy
The Night Before Christmas
The Tale of the Tiger Slippers
The Snowy Nap
Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury
See all

Praise for Jan Brett's The Nutcracker

Praise for Cozy:

"This moving tale of gentle kindness serves as a clarion call for anyone searching for a book about creating your own community in times of trial. For readers who haven't a musk ox of their own to snuggle up with, this tale proves just as cozy." --Kirkus Reviews

"During a period in which some families are spending more time together in tight spaces, the comforting live-and-let-live message is timely." --Publisher's Weekly

Praise for The Tale of the Tiger Slippers:

"Graphically sumptuous . . . A richly imagined tale of love, diligence, and kindness rewarded." --Publishers Weekly

"The lavish textiles and swooping architecture of ancient India look fantastic in this illustrator's finely drawn style . . . Brett continues to be one of the most revered retellers of classic tales." --School Library Journal

Praise for The Snowy Nap:

"[A] fetching companion to The Hat. . . Brett's trademark patterned borders both supplement and forecast the action playing out in meticulously detailed scenarios." --Publishers Weekly

"Brett's watercolor-and-gouache illustrations feature both soft and bright colors, with fine lines and copious textures to peruse. . . Between the opulent farmhouse with decorative plates on the walls, the sleigh with sleigh bells, and the lack of adults, combined with a comfortably heated interior, this is a winter idyll." --Kirkus Reviews

Praise for The Mermaid:

* "In this dazzling remix, Brett sets "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" under the sea. Brett's brightly colored, highly detailed art shines in this aquatic setting as she embellishes the octopuses' dwelling with shells, coral, and tropical fish that swim in and out of the windows. . . Brett's fans will rejoice, and she'll make new ones, too."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Not only is this fractured fairy tale a delight to read, there is also an adorable side story skillfully told in the border art as only Brett can. Set in the waters off of the coast of Okinawa, this colorful picture book is exquisite."--School Library Journal

"[S]ure to please Brett's fans."--Kirkus