Nut Cracker

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It is Christmas Eve and the party is over. Clara creeps downstairs to find Nutcracker, a wooden doll given to her by her mysterious godfather Drosselmeier – a creator of fabulous mechanical toys, has come to life. Through her godfather’s strange powers, Clara is caught up in a thrilling battle in which she and Nutcracker – in reality a prince transformed by an evil spell – overcome the Mouse King and his army. Clara’s bravery is rewarded by a trip to the magical Land of Sweets, and in the end it is her love and loyalty that lift the curse, transforming Nutcracker back into his true self, and making Clara’s dreams come true. This classic love story, which inspired the popular ballet that is danced to one of Tchaikovsky’s most magical scores, is wonderfully retold by David Walser, in a direct translation from the original German story.Jan Pieñkowski, master of illustration, brings the story vividly to life adding his own magic with exquisite illustrations on sparkling backgrounds. The finale is a multi-layered tableau of intricate laser-cut silhouettes, created in the style of traditional German papercraft. This beautiful and sumptuous novelty book is the ultimate Christmas gift. About the Author Born in Warsaw, into a family of architects and artists, Jan Pienkowski came to London as a ten year-old who spoke no English. He quickly developed a passion for English comics - "At my grammar school comics were banned... when we were in the sixth form there was always a race to see who could be the first to confiscate an Eagle on the day it came out." He studied English and Classics at Cambridge but spent most of his time designing posters, sets and costumes for student drama productions. While still in Cambridge, he was co-founder of the greetings card company, Gallery Five, of which he remains a director. After college, he found work as an art director in advertising. "They all thought I was very eccentric. With an English degree you were supposed to want to be a copywriter." He also created cartoons and graphics for the BBC Children's TV series, Watch.