It’s difficult to review this accurately, as a PDF doesn’t show the cut-outs or physicality of the pages. But even on a screen it’s clear that the artwork is pretty, bright and appealing - I particularly liked the Black sugar plum fairy! The words weren’t particularly musical, poetic or fun to read aloud, and I don’t think the magic and wonder of the story came across, but hopefully the sweetness of the artwork is enough to make up for that.

I love these styles of books with the fun cutout pages. Simple and beautiful this is definitely a holiday book I know my toddler would want to read over and over all throughout the year.

2.5★
“As she picked him up, she was amazed to see the Nutcracker spring to life!
‘Be careful,’ he said. ‘The Mouse King approaches…’”

I saved this to read during the Christmas season, thinking it might be a nice book to share with parents and teachers. I am disappointed. I must first declare that I have a preview PDF copy of the board book, so I can’t see the die-cut holes it apparently has.

As a board book, it is aimed at the youngest book-lovers, some of whom may not have passed beyond the stage of chewing the edges, I don’t know. The language is certainly aimed at adults who will read aloud with feeling, I hope, and explain the meaning. The words and phrases are descriptive, but not for early readers: “nibbled and gnawed; scuttle away; lifted my curse; whisked her away”.

It’s very bright, almost garishly so, and the story is so truncated that it doesn’t make sense. Briefly, Marie and her brother receive a nutcracker in the shape of a toy soldier, and while playing with it, her brother breaks it.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: The children’s godfather with his gift which Fritz breaks

That night, she slips downstairs to see the nutcracker. He warns her about the mouse king, and suddenly, hundreds of mice come out of holes in the walls! What’s a girl to do? The nutcracker does nothing (in this book).

My Goodreads review includes an illustration above the following text:
“An army of brave gingerbread men marched into battle against the mice. But the mice nibbled and gnawed at the tasty soldiers!

Seeing an opportunity, Marie threw her slipper at the Mouse King. Thump! It hit him, and the mouse army scuttled away. The Nutcracker had won!”

I had to look up the original story to try to make sense of this, since my memory is obviously coloured by the music that I grew up with. How had the Nutcracker won the battle? Perhaps he was supposed to have led the gingerbread soldiers into battle, but there’s nothing to indicate that.

But all’s well that ends well. He turns into a real-life prince, “whisks her away” down the chocolate path to his kingdom and they dance to the music of the Sugar Plum Fairies.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: Marie and her Nutcracker Prince on the chocolate path to the palace

If I weren’t already familiar with the music based on the original story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffmann, I wouldn’t like this at all. But because it reminded me of some favourite music, I’ll give it a couple of stars. I realise there are other adaptations of the Nutcracker story - I just felt this had odd gaps.

Here’s a summary of the original story on Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutcracker_and_the_Mouse_King

Here’s the 4 minute overture in YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HezLat7JrQ4)

You can watch the entire ballet online, if you’ve a mind to!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtLoaMfinbU

Thanks to NetGalley for and Quarto Publishing’s words & pictures for reminding me of a nice Christmas story.

This is a classic and fun book for children. I love the concept of the die cut pages and how each page layers to create the scenery. I love this innovative concept and can't wait to see it with a physical copy.

I had a good time reading an abridged version of this tale. Although much shorter, this book still hit all the important points of this story. We saw amazing things happen, and this soldier took on all kinds of dangers. As this tale came to a close, this story has a happy ending. This is a version of this story that I think all ages are sure to enjoy.

The book didn't open well in my computer, but got a glimpse of the story from amazon. This is a toddler version of The Nutcracker book, with short sentences, a lot of illustrations, and a few pages. A good book to initiate a read, moreover for those kids who aspire to be ballet dancers later on.

I loved colors of and art of this book. But I didn't find it age appropriate and confusing. So much happened so quickly.i would have preferred a few more pages.

Visually I enjoyed this but the story is so different than the real Nutcracker story. I understand that would have been hard to condense but this version doesn't really come close. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Quarto for my digital review copy.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for my copy of Step Into the Nutcracker by Quarto Publishing Group--Words & Pictures. It published November 17, 2020.
What a gorgeous book! The illustrations are phenomenal, and I know a physical copy would be even more beautiful to read and view. It would definitely make a great coffee table book, or even a decoration. Definitely a conversation starter.
I also really enjoy the summarized version of The Nutcracker for younger readers/listeners to get them engaged without overwhelming them. It is a great primer!
If you have any young readers, or even collect The Nutcracker items, this would be a great addition, and gift!

I volunteered to read this book, through netgalley in exchange, for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. The illustrations is absolutely beautiful. This book is absolutely adorable. I highly highly recommend reading this book. It will be in stores tomorrow November 17 for $12.95 (USD).

Another cute little introduction for children into another classic story. Being a preschool teacher, I'm always looking for new books to pick up for my group that will engage them in the story and also just be fun to read with them. This one similar to the Alice one is a good way of bringing this story to children. I really think my kids would like the design of this book and the beautiful illustrations.

As far as i`ve gathered, this is an introduction to reading but i felt like it went too quickly and wasn`t as pop-up ish as i thought, plus there were some words that dosen`t seem to fit the introduction to reading part. It could have been more pages, and let the story evolve slowly so we get to know the characters and love them.

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for the ARC of The Nutcracker.

The Nutcracker is a simplified version of the original Christmas tale, The Nutcracker. It has beautiful pictures and would be an excellent Christmas read for little hands. I read it with my five year old nanny kid and found The Nutcracker to be the perfect introduction to the original story.

Step into The Nutcracker by words&pictures is another short story book bringing this classic tale back to life.

This Christmas tale is much better suited for the short format, in my humble opinion. Some of the stories picked for this little series are a little longer or wackier and need the extra pages.

I think this book is a great introduction to the classic tale. It's colourful, full of fun illustrations and gives you a different take on the classic tale.

Three out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, words&pictures and Quarto for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

A fun Christmas book, with layered pages, bright colors, and adorable and breathtaking illustrations. A great way to introduce the classic story of The Nutcracker to kids. But I think according to the language used in this book it fits better with kids in grade 3.
The illustrations are adorable and a great fit for children, because the mouse king is not scary like in some other versions and everything, is so colorful that it can keep the kids focused on the short story.

This was a fantastic adaptation of the Nutcracker. Designed for a younger audience, the bright colorful text, interesting images, and eight short pages are sure to keep your child's attention. A great way to introduce the classics to a younger audience.

Thank you NetGalley for the DRC.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Nutcracker is a colourful picture book about the classic tale of the Nutcracker for Christmas time. I found the illustrations lovely and the story short and sweet but just enough of a story for little ones to follow. I have always enjoyed the tale of The Nutcracker so it was a delight to read this.

If I'm looking to convey the classic tale I know through a book, I'm not recommending this. If I'm looking for a seasonally-themed picture book that might put a smile on a child's face, I would.

This is a lovely, beautifully illustrated version of the Nutcracker for children.

It’s difficult to rate the interactive elements accurately from a digital ARC. There is no way to replicate them digitally, but it would have been nice if the publisher had included a description so that advance readers had some idea what to tell their audience to expect regarding the final product.

I have high hopes for these elements of the book though, based on what I can actually see in the arc. The color palette is beautiful and festive, and the author did well distilling the story down to a few critical lines that young readers can grasp to go along with the art and interactive elements.

This gorgeous, brightly illustrated book tells the story of a seasonal classic. It would make an excellent gift for a young child who wants to enjoy some of the magic of Christmas.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.