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Woodland Nutcracker
It is Christmas Eve in the forest and bear cubs Clara and Peter have been busy all day helping their parents prepare for the festive night. Finally, it is time to open Grandpa's handmade gifts. There are dancing puppets on strings, colourful tin soldiers and, most splendid of all, a carved nutcracker bear. When Clara can't sleep that night, she goes down to see the Nutcracker. Entering the moonlit living room she is astonished to find a battle between the field mice and the Nutcracker with his band of tin soldiers. As Clara calls a truce, the Nutcracker grows before her eyes into a real bear, takes her hand in his and leads her on a fantastic voyage. Avril Tyrrell's spare and evocative prose remains true to the original Nutcracker story and Frances Tyrrell's gorgeous animals and woodland settings, full of stunning detail and vibrant colours, are the perfect finishing touch. Visit Frances Tyrrell's personal website at: http://www.francestyrrell.com/
- GenresChristmasPicture Books
32 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 5, 2019
AND NOW IS THE TIME OF YEAR I FLOAT OLD CHRISTMAS REVIEWS TO COUNTDOWN TO BING BONG BING BONG!!!
christmas in april!!
the lovely melki sent me a care package recently containing this book which is her culture's version of the nutcracker story. and by "her culture," i of course mean bears.
it is beautifully illustrated
and it tells the story of a lovely young bear named clara who is rewarded one christmas eve for her kindness towards some hungry mice by a nutcracker turned dreamy living bear who whisks her away to the palace of ursa major where she is treated to a series of performances by different bears from distant lands:
including this very special one:
there are also some pretty sweet raccoons
and some blue jays who don't do anything overtly evil on the page, but you know they're plotting and there's probably a sequel about how they ruin everything for everyone.
blue jays aside, this is a really gorgeous book and i like it so much more than the boring old human version where it's all twirling and leaping and possibly a little racist?
bears - they might eat you, but at least they're not racist.
thank you for everything, melki!!! ♥
come to my blog!
christmas in april!!
the lovely melki sent me a care package recently containing this book which is her culture's version of the nutcracker story. and by "her culture," i of course mean bears.
it is beautifully illustrated
and it tells the story of a lovely young bear named clara who is rewarded one christmas eve for her kindness towards some hungry mice by a nutcracker turned dreamy living bear who whisks her away to the palace of ursa major where she is treated to a series of performances by different bears from distant lands:
including this very special one:
there are also some pretty sweet raccoons
and some blue jays who don't do anything overtly evil on the page, but you know they're plotting and there's probably a sequel about how they ruin everything for everyone.
blue jays aside, this is a really gorgeous book and i like it so much more than the boring old human version where it's all twirling and leaping and possibly a little racist?
bears - they might eat you, but at least they're not racist.
thank you for everything, melki!!! ♥
come to my blog!
December 22, 2015
This is simply a retelling of the Hoffman classic with bears playing most of the parts.
The artwork by Frances Tyrrell is lovely, but so much like the work of Jan Brett, it seems derivative.
The artwork by Frances Tyrrell is lovely, but so much like the work of Jan Brett, it seems derivative.
December 22, 2016
Long ago, far away from highways and city lights, where bright stars touched the tree tops and forest roots touched the edges of frozen lakes, two little bears sat on the steps of their woodland home.
Oh, oh, oh, I enjoyed this little Christmas treat! It brings the Nutcracker story together with Bears. Big, clawed, furry Bears. The very first Nutcracker I saw on stage had a dancing bear and that memory has long stayed with me, which explains why I was immediately attracted to this beautifully illustrated story.
Inspired by her camping trips to the boreal forest of Canada, illustrator Frances Tyrrell has created a magical world of various Bears who star in each of the Nutcracker roles. There are Panda Bears and Polar Bears and Grizzly Bears and Koala Bears, all performing special performances. There are also identifiers for each illustrated page, such as raccoons and Bear candy canes. And the details, as when Clara meets the Nutcracker Bear (all grown) and her claws are placed in a balletic pose.
This is also the first Nutcracker tale which doesn't vilify the little mice. Here, they are presented as simply trying to feed their children and families, so Clara effects a truce, thus earning the rodents' trust.
Christmas-licious.
Book Season = Winter (Sugar Plum Bear)
December 5, 2023
The classic Christmas fairy-tale about a magical nutcracker is given the ursine treatment in this gorgeous picture book from Canadian author/illustrator team Avril and Frances Tyrrell, who are also mother and daughter. Clara, a young brown bear living with her family in their cosy island home, experiences all the joy and wonder of a Christmas party, and is delighted with Grandpa Bear's gift of Nutcracker Bear. Waking up late at night, Clara is in time to see an incipient battle between the Nutcracker and a troupe of mice, and manages to make peace between the factions. As reward for her kindness in creating a Christmas Truce, Nutcracker (now a live bear) takes Clara to the palace of Ursa Major, where she witnesses bears of all kinds giving many wonderful performances. Eventually Clara is returned home from this celestial palace, laden with a special gift for her brother Peter...
I am not sure that a Nutcracker retelling with bears was something with enough appeal for me, that I would have picked up Woodland Nutcracker in the ordinary course of events, but as someone who greatly admires illustrator Frances Tyrrell's work—her artwork for The Huron Carol and The Worker in Sandalwood was simply gorgeous—I decided to seek it out despite that fact. How fortunate that I did, as I discovered an absolutely delightful picture book, one with an entertaining and magical story, and lovely illustrations! I really appreciated the way in which Avril Tyrrell adapted the story, taking her Clara to the stars, rather than to a magical land of sweets, and I loved that various different bear (and not really bear) species—black bears, lesser pandas, pandas, polar bears, grizzly bears, and koala bears—performed the various dances. It's clear that Tyrrell was as inspired by the story of the ballet, as she was by the original Hoffman tale. The visuals here were simply beautiful, with a lovely color palette, gorgeous decorative borders, and charming ursine characters in ornate costumes. All in all, this was a wonderful Christmas picture book, one with both narrative and illustrative appeal. Recommended to those looking for a creative Nutcracker retelling with beautiful artwork, as well as to fellow admirers of Frances Tyrrell's work.
I am not sure that a Nutcracker retelling with bears was something with enough appeal for me, that I would have picked up Woodland Nutcracker in the ordinary course of events, but as someone who greatly admires illustrator Frances Tyrrell's work—her artwork for The Huron Carol and The Worker in Sandalwood was simply gorgeous—I decided to seek it out despite that fact. How fortunate that I did, as I discovered an absolutely delightful picture book, one with an entertaining and magical story, and lovely illustrations! I really appreciated the way in which Avril Tyrrell adapted the story, taking her Clara to the stars, rather than to a magical land of sweets, and I loved that various different bear (and not really bear) species—black bears, lesser pandas, pandas, polar bears, grizzly bears, and koala bears—performed the various dances. It's clear that Tyrrell was as inspired by the story of the ballet, as she was by the original Hoffman tale. The visuals here were simply beautiful, with a lovely color palette, gorgeous decorative borders, and charming ursine characters in ornate costumes. All in all, this was a wonderful Christmas picture book, one with both narrative and illustrative appeal. Recommended to those looking for a creative Nutcracker retelling with beautiful artwork, as well as to fellow admirers of Frances Tyrrell's work.
December 6, 2011
what beautiful, wonderful illustrations! i want each one for a poster!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews