Mia's Nutcracker Ballet
PreS-Gr 2-Mia is the youngest member of her family and an aspiring ballerina. Grandpa's Christmas gift to her is a nutcracker and he tells her the story of the ballet. The whimsical illustrations depict the kitten's imagining of the story with a cast of costumed animal dancers. The narrative is an abbreviated version of the traditional story that seems to be intended for young children with short attention spans. Neither the concept nor the execution of text and illustration makes this a first purchase, but libraries with an insatiable demand for holiday books in general and the Nutcracker in particular may find it useful.-Virginia Walter, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studiesα(c) Copyright 2013.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.