This book is a simplified retelling of the story of The Nutcracker. As with all books in this series it uses simple text (only 66 words) that are repetitive in the book itself as well as the series (Beginning to Read). It tells the story of a young girl who gets a nutcracker for a gift. After she wakes up to get him, she realizes that he is being attacked by a mouse, and saves his life by throwing her shoe at him. After she saves him, she is taken on a magical adventure with delicious treats to eat and beautiful things to see.

This book should make young readers feel positive about their reading skills. The illustrations, which are colourful and well drawn, also help to decode the text for young children. This would be a great book for young readers who have seen this ballet or are familiar with the story. As with other books in this series, there are several activities and suggestions that parents can use with their children to reinforce their reading skills. A good book to have in a primary classroom or a family library where the children are just learning to read. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley. ( )

This is great book to read to kids. This book is good to introduce kids to folklore and to see what their dreams are. ( )

In this book, a young girl rescues her nutcracker from an attack by mice. The nutcracker then turns into a prince and takes her to see numerous people. This book is appropriate for ages pre-K through third grade.
When I read this book, it made me think of stories my mom used to make up and tell me about a girl being rescued by a prince.