Niroot Puttapipat

Expatriate Thai artist Niroot Puttapipat, who studied and currently lives in the UK, takes the famous fairy-tale/ballet The Nutcracker as the story for this beautiful new holiday picture-book, creating a gorgeous visual treat for the reader. At a short twelve pages, the text here, adapted by Kate Davies from the original story by E.T.A. Hoffman, as well as the ballet based upon it, is an abridged version of the original tale of Clara and her magical Christmas Eve adventure with the Nutcracker Prince. Each two-page spread features text along one side, and a beautiful and colorful silhouette illustration spread across both pages. The final spread features a lovely pop-up scene, in which Clara attends the ball, and watches the various dancers.

I greatly enjoyed this retelling of the famous Christmas story, which I have seen performed many times by The New York City Ballet. The abbreviated story will work well for younger children who might not yet have the attention span for the full text, and the artwork will keep readers both young and old enthralled. The silhouette aspect of Puttapipat's illustrations put me in mind of the work of Jan Pieńkowski, while the use of color and gold reminded me of Jane Ray, both of which comparisons are high praise indeed, given my fondness for Pieńkowski and Ray's books! The final pop-up scene is simply delightful, delicate and beautiful, conveying the magic of the ball that Clara attends in the Land of Sweets. Recommended to anyone looking for picture-book versions of The Nutcracker!… (mere)