Review by New York Times Review
A wordless picture book about seeing "The Nutcracker" is an inspired idea, and with utterly enchanting diorama art, McKay makes it feel like an event. (You might want to put on fancy holiday clothes just to read it.) A girl and her mother, drawn in sepia tones, are leaving for the theater on a rainy night. Once they arrive, scenes from the ballet are in color; in the audience, a boy and his father are also absorbed in the magic. Look closely at the illuminating details, like the high-top sneakers the girl wears with her dress. QUEEN OF THE HANUKKAH DOSAS By Pamela Ehrenberg. Illustrated byAnjan Sarkar. 36 pp. Farrar Straus & Giroux. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) The boy who narrates this lighthearted holiday mash-up has an Indian mom and a Jewish dad. At Hanukkah that's a "lucky combination," he says: Instead of latkes, the family makes Indian dosas. His only complaint is his wild toddler sister, who's slowing down the dosa-making process. When she runs amok in the supermarket, he sings to her, to the tune of the dreidel song: "I had a little dosa. I made it out of dal." But after a mishap her high jinks come in handy. Improvisation, we're reminded, is at the heart of any winter holiday. THE NUTCRACKER IN HARLEM By T. E. McMorrow. Illustrated by James Ransome. 32 pp. HarperCollins. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) This inventive book embeds the classic holiday ballet in the elegant Harlem Renaissance world of the 1920s. Marie's large family is hosting a musical Christmas Eve party, but she's too shy to sing. Her Uncle Cab gives her a nutcracker as a gift, and once the guests leave the night brings all kinds of remarkable goings-on. The nutcracker come to life, of course, but perhaps even better, Marie finds a way to sing. Ransome's rich jewel-toned art makes both indoor scenes and the New York City night vibrate with life and holiday wonder. LOVE, SANTA By Martha Brockenbrough. Illustrated by Lee White. 32 pp. Scholastic. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 6 and up) To tell or not to tell? As parental dilemmas go, the "Is Santa Claus real?" conundrum can be a source of genuine agonizing. Based on the beans-spilling letter to her daughter Brockenbrough published in The Times and elsewhere, this earnest book about the end of a child's Santa era channels the sense of loss into a message about generosity and kindness. Told largely via letters to and from Santa tucked inside envelopes in the book, Lucy's growth into knowledge, and her mother's navigation of her role in that, are equally moving. THE GIRL WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS By Matt Haig. Illustrated by Chris Mould. 320 pp. Knopf. $17.99. (Ages 7 and up) If somewhere in the afterlife Roald Dahl met Charles Dickens and they cooked up a new Christmas tale, it couldn't have much on this fleet, verbally rambunctious, heart-stealing follow-up to "A Boy Called Christmas," set in Victorian London (with cameos by Dickens himself). Amelia Wishart, the first child to have gotten a gift from Father Christmas, is orphaned and sent to a workhouse. At the North Pole, magic levels plummet. Christmas is in jeopardy, and Father Christmas is in custody. Amelia to the rescue? We'd all better believe it. ONLINE An expanded visual presentation of this week's column at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [December 3, 2017]
Review by Booklist Review
A grand house in Harlem fills with music and dancing on a Christmas Eve in the 1920s. Beside the decorated tree, Uncle Cab gives young Marie a drummer boy nutcracker. Late that night, the tree magically grows to enormous height, while the nutcracker plays his drum, and the toy soldiers and dolls dance. When an army of mice attacks and the drummer falls, Marie beats his drum to rally the troops, who drive away the mice. Marie awakens on Christmas morning and joins her family and guests in singing a holiday song. Drawing on his memories of working as a stagehand for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, McMorrow bases his story on Hoffmann's classic but gives it a Harlem Renaissance setting and tweaks the details as well. From the dreamy, lyrical jacket illustration to the moonlit street scene to the beautifully individualized portrayals of characters in period clothing, Ransome's deep-toned watercolor paintings bring the story and its Jazz Age background to life on the page. A familiar ballet story, reinterpreted with style.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
First-time author McMorrow sets this romantic reimagining of Hoffmann's holiday ballet in 1920s Harlem, streamlining the plot while tapping into the cultural, musical, and social resonance of the Harlem Renaissance. Looking on warily as her parents host the revelers, an African-American girl named Marie is reluctant to join in the singing or dancing, despite the reassurance of a woman named Miss Addie (inspired by singer Adelaide Hall). "Music lives inside everyone," she tells Marie. "You just have to let it out." This proves true when Marie falls asleep and helps her nutcracker (a gift from her Cab Calloway-inspired Uncle Cab) defeat an invading mouse army with the "dum-diddy-dum" of a drum she plays. Filled with motion, emotion, and period detail, Ransome's vivid watercolors celebrate the magic of both the fairy-tale world Marie dreams herself into and the vibrant real-life community that is eager to help her find her voice. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-Marie, an African American child, gets a drummer nutcracker figure from her Uncle Cab for Christmas and dreams about toy soldiers coming to life and their battle with the army of mice. Set in Harlem in the 1920s, this version of the classic tale features black characters, and the music is jazz, not Tchaikovsky. Ransome's watercolor illustrations enhance the story handsomely, and the author's end note gives a brief background on the Harlem Renaissance. VERDICT This is a fine addition to the canon of retellings of the E.T.A. Hoffmann tale and the perennially favorite holiday ballet.-Virginia Walter, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
McMorrows atmospheric Nutcracker re-visioning is set in Harlems Sugar Hill in the 1920s. This versions Marie receives a drummer boy nutcracker at a Christmas Eve party where she feels everyone else has musical talent, and finds her own voice through a dream (or is it?) in which her drumming halts a mouse battle. Ransomes watercolors, full of rich dark blues and reds, ably transition from bustling party scenes to Maries exciting dream to the hushed nighttime world. An authors note cites the transformative power of music and dance during the Harlem Renaissance and in the Tchaikovsky ballet as well as identifying the real-life counterparts to the storys party guests Uncle Cab (Cab Calloway) and Miss Addie (Adelaide Hall). shoshana flax (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The plot structure of The Nutcracker ballet's first act is used as the inspiration for this Jazz Age-era story about a shy girl in Harlem. Marie loves Christmas, but she is rather overwhelmed at her family's large Christmas party with singing, dancing, and piano music provided by her uncle Cab. Marie is encouraged to sing at the party, but she has no confidence in her musical abilities. She falls asleep under the Christmas tree with her gift, a nutcracker drummer boy, a present from Uncle Cab. A dream sequence begins, incorporating elements from the ballet, with dancers, soldiers, the transformed Nutcracker, and an army of uniformed mice. A dramatic battle ensues between the soldiers and the mice, and Marie halts the fighting by playing the Nutcracker's drum and scaring the mice away. She dances with the Nutcracker, transformed into a handsome young black man, and then finds the confidence to sing. Marie's dream ends on Christmas morning, and one of her gifts is her own blue drum, matching the drum she used in her dream. Radiant watercolor illustrations use a palette of glowing jewel tones, especially deep blues and brilliant fuchsia for Marie's flowing dress. All the characters are African-American, with the women in Marie's family wearing coats and hats of the period. An author's note provides information about the Harlem Renaissance and the inspiration for the story. An intriguing integration of The Nutcracker's magic into a new setting and a welcome addition to the shelf of Nutcracker-themed picture books. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
