Nothing else in children's culture works quite like The Nutcracker. A girl is given a wooden toy on Christmas Eve, falls asleep under the tree, and by midnight the furniture has grown, the mice have declared war, and somebody is dancing a solo about candy. Every December a few million children sit through some version of it, half of them wriggling, and a surprising number come out wanting a tutu, a toy soldier, or a ticket for next year. Books do the work a single performance cannot: they name the Mouse King before he appears, they let a child hear the celesta twelve times instead of once, and they hold the spectacle still long enough to actually look at it.
Bookroo's collection of Nutcracker books covers every version of the story a family is likely to need — Susan Jeffers and Jan Brett's grand retellings, E.T.A. Hoffmann's much stranger original, sound books that play the Tchaikovsky, and novels about the children who dance the thing. Our editors picked twelve favorites below, running roughly from “we have tickets on Saturday” to “she has rehearsal every night until Christmas.” Under that, browse board books for toddlers, picture books for the week before the show, and chapter books for readers ready to have the mice be genuinely frightening.
The ballet's own version of the story, told in spare text and full-page spectacle.
Marie's whole adventure at full length, moved to a snowbound Russia and framed in Jan Brett's borders.
Press the note on each spread and the actual Tchaikovsky plays underneath the picture.
A reluctant girl, a rainy night, uncomfortable clothes — and then the curtain goes up.
Tallulah wanted the Sugar Plum Fairy. Tallulah has been cast as a mouse.
The true story of a twelve-year-old cast as Marie in the New York City Ballet's production.
Christmas Eve in Harlem, where the magic arrives as music instead of spectacle.
The little red chicken attends her first ballet and cannot stop climbing onstage to help.
Six buttons, six of Tchaikovsky's best-known pieces, one indestructible board book.
How three brothers from small-town Utah turned a Russian ballet into an American December.
Hoffmann's original 1816 tale — the curse, the seven-headed Mouse King, Princess Pirlipat — as a graphic novel.
Inside the Mariinsky, the theater mice have their own ballet company — and their own Clara.
Sturdy first Nutcrackers — buttons that play Tchaikovsky, felted toy soldiers, lift-the-flap Christmas trees — for laps that will not sit through a two-hour ballet yet. Ages 0–4.
A Nutcracker doll springs to life, leading a girl on a magical Christmas adventure.
Discover dance through The Nutcracker's enchanting characters.
Enchanted toys come alive, revealing the power of kindness.
A toy nutcracker holds a magical secret that transforms Christmas.
Join toddler ballerinas in a magical Nutcracker adventure.
Discover classic tales through simple words and charming scenes.
A girl must break a spell to save her enchanted Nutcracker.
Join a magical journey to the Land of Sweets with Clara and her nutcracker doll.
Embark on a magical journey with Clara and the Nutcracker.
Retellings to read the week before the show, stories about being cast in it, and a few that refuse to take any of it seriously — ages 3–8.
Uncover magical pop-up scenes in a Nutcracker adventure.
Enter a magical realm where dance and holiday spirit come alive.
The Berenstain Bears discover magic in a nutcracker gift.
A nutcracker transforms, leading Marie on an unforgettable winter adventure in a magical land.
Experience the magic of The Nutcracker through a vibrant ballet-inspired picture book.
A magical Christmas tale unfolds in a timeless ballet adventure.
Uncover the original tale behind the Nutcracker's battle with the King of Mice.
Discover the magic of The Nutcracker this Christmas.
A magical Nutcracker adventure transforms a holiday night into an unforgettable journey.
A nutcracker transforms into a prince, whisking Clara to a magical land on Christmas Eve.
A young girl's Christmas Eve is filled with magic and adventure when her nutcracker doll comes to life.
A dancing zombie must save The Nutcracker show from chaos.
Hoffmann's original, mice with a ballet company of their own, and novels about children living inside a December production — ages 6–11.
A toymaker's quest to save a princess and his father from a vengeful Mouse Queen.
A dancer's dream turns magical, but danger looms as reality and fantasy collide.
A toy battles a Mouse King, leading to a magical land of dolls.
Young dancers time-travel to the first Nutcracker, facing bullies and chaos.
