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Jan Brett's The Nutcracker

Author Jan Brett

Illustrated by Jan Brett

Hardcover

$19.99 US

Penguin Young Readers | G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

11.63"W x 9.5"H x 0.39"D | 18 oz | 24 per carton

On sale Aug 19, 2025 | 32 Pages | 9798217005048

Age 4-8 years

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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 Christmas classic now features an invitation to access music from the ballet performed by the Boston Pops!

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.

Like Jan Brett's classics The Mitten and The Night Before Christmas., this is sure to make the perfect gift. The book includes an invitation to watch a video with Jan's art paired with music by Tchaikovsky from the Boston Pops performance of "A Christmas Tale: Suite from The Nutcracker."

With more than 42 million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation’s foremost illustrators of children’s books. As a child, she decided to be an illustrator and spent much of her time reading and drawing. As a student at the Boston Museum School, Jan spent many hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. Travel is also a constant inspiration, so with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, she visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts. View titles by Jan Brett

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“Animals are cast in the traditional second act: Bears dance the Russian Trepak, Arctic foxes perform the Danse Arabe (“their foxtails entwining”), and reindeer with candles on their antlers accompany Marie to a gingerbread house, where waltzing hedgehogs’ quills are studded with tiny yellow flowers. Vivid, descriptive language adds further depth. . . A Christmas confection laced with an Old World sensibility.” —Publisher's Weekly