A Treasury of Christmas Stories and Songs by Parragon is a great way to bring the family together. With 18 traditional tales, classic rhymes, cherished songs and carols, the pages are beautifully illustrated and sprinkled with Christmas magic.
POD learnt Christmas carols for her pre-school nativity this year and we enjoy singing them together. There are a couple of stories in this book that really touched her though. One of these is The Nutcracker, retold by Rachel Elliot with illustrations by Valeria Docampo.
Clara was putting the finishing touches to their enormous tree while her brother Fritz was busy with his toy soldiers. It was Christmas Eve and a party was taking place that evening.
One of the guests was Godfather Drosselmeyer, a famous toymaker, who came bearing gifts for the siblings. For Clara there was a wooden Nutcracker in the shape of a soldier and for Fritz a mechanical gobstopper machine.
When the last dance was danced and the guests said their goodbyes, the family went to bed. As the clock struck midnight, Clara remembered she’d left her Nutcracker under the tree. She crept downstairs only to witness the tree growing. Or was she shrinking?
She was told not to be afraid but the Nutcracker who had come alive! At that point all the toys came to life, including Fritz’s soldiers, who fought the Mouse King. He was apprehended by Clara who threw her slipper and knocked his crown off his head.
The Nutcracker was then transformed into a handsome prince and Clara became a princess. He took her on an adventure in a beautiful sleigh with two reindeer.
Clara caught sight of a “magical land where lollipop trees shimmered on candyfloss hills”. They’d arrived at the Kingdom of Sweets. The sleigh stopped next to a “rose-coloured lake and changed into a sea-chariot pulled by dolphins”.
The Mouse Queen’s spell had been broken and they were welcomed by the Sugarplum Fairy into a marzipan palace. There they watched the Sugar Plum Fairy dance while they feasted.
When Clara woke on Christmas morning she was under the Christmas tree with the Nutcracker. She told her parents about her adventure but did she imagine it? We don’t think so! POD absolutely adores this story, it’s one of the few she just sits and listens to without asking lots of questions. The intrigue and excitement keep her four-year-old mind interested from start to finish. The illustrations are just wonderful and the story is so beautifully told.
The Nutcracker is one of the stories in this book, there are many others including The First Christmas, The Snow Queen (another favourite), The Night Before Christmas and A Letter to Santa not to mention many carols. You can purchase A Treasury of Christmas Stories and Songs from Amazon here.
Disclaimer: As a Parragon Book Buddy, we received a copy of A Treasury of Christmas Stories and Songs for the purpose of this review. Opinions are our own.
