Mousetrap! Tallulah's Nutcracker by Marilyn Singer

THERE WAS ONLY ONE CHRISTMAS PRESENT THAT TALLULAH WANTED.

WHEN THE PHONE RANG, SHE WAS SURE HER WISH HAD COME TRUE.

"THEY PICKED ME! I'M GOING TO BE A A MOUSE IN THE NUTCRACKER!"

As is the job of little brothers, Becket points out that Tallulah disdained his role as Mouse in their dance school's production the Christmas before.

"BUT BEING IN A REAL BALLET COMPANY IN A REAL THEATRE IS BIG TIME!" TALLULAH INSISTED. "MAYBE I'LL BE ON TV!"

Tallulah throws all her energy into being a good mouse, trying to crawl creepily out of the clock as Clara falls asleep under the Christmas tree, Her knees take quite a beating, but Tallulah just knows that if she can impress the ballet master as the best mouse in the troupe, she will be paving her way to a starring role as Clara or even the Sugar Plum Fairy someday.

"I BET THEY ASK FOR MY AUTOGRAPH!" SHE DREAMS.

At last opening night comes. The huge theatre is resplendent, and the Sugar Plum Fairy sparkles in the stage lights. Tallulah's whole family is out front with hundreds of others, and although she secretly believes she is the very best mouse, she has some butterflies in the stomach as the director hisses "PLACES!" The orchestra begins the cue for the mice to make their entrance creeping out of the old clock and scurrying around the stage. "GULP!" thinks Tallulah as she senses the big audience watching for the first big scene in the story.

"I'M THE SCARIEST, MOST MARVELOUS MOUSE OF ALL," SHE REMINDS HERSELF!

But pride goes before a fall, and as the mice stealthily approach the footlights, Tallulah steps on the tail of the mouse in front of her.

"WHOMP!"

Tallulah barges into the fallen mouse in front of her and sets off a series of unfortunate events. concluding in a pile of mice and toy soldiers center stage. Chuckles spread through the audience.

The show must go on, and a much chastened Tallulah Mouse picks herself up along with the others as they regroup and finish their routine. Tallulah exits and runs for a place to hide, feeling that she's flopped in her one chance to be a star--ever!

But to her surprise, when the curtain goes down the dance master and the dancers playing Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy find her and console her with stories of their own embarrassing stage moments. Playing a boy at Clara's Christmas party, the ballet master says he burped so loud the whole audience roared. "Clara" recalls the time she was dancing as a snowflake and went onstage still in her striped legwarmers, and "Sugar Plum Fairy" tells her about the time she did a fast pirouette and her tutu fell right off. These things happen, they say. That's show biz, but the show must go on. And then the dance master adds,

"BUT A REAL DANCER KEEPS RIGHT ON DANCING, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU DID."

As always, our Tallulah gets a little ahead of herself in her dreams, but gets some good advice from older and wiser dancers, in Tallulah's Nutcracker (Clarion, 2013). It takes a troupe to make a real ballerina, and luckily Tallulah has plenty of support for her big ambitions. As always, too, Alexandra Boiger adds her elegante watercolor artwork, revealing character in facial expressions and body language in a way that extends Marilyn Singer's skillful narrative. Little balletomanes will find Boiger's cover illustration of every young dancer's dream, the Sugar Plum Fairy, in her glittery white gown, irresistible, while taking comfort perhaps in just being in the show.

Other Tallulah tales by Maryilyn Singer are Tallulah's Tutu, Tallulah's Solo, Tallulah's Toe Shoes, and Tallulah's Tap Shoes (see reviews here) for all those aspiring ballet stars.

Monster Merriment: Frankenstein and the Fright before Christmas by Ludwurst Bemonster

IT WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND POOR MISS DEVEL
WAS HASSLED AND HARRIED AND NOT FEELING WELL.
THE MONSTERS' BED MANNERS HAD TAKEN THEIR TOLL.
THEY'D LOST THEIR HEADS! THEY WERE OUT OF CONTROL.

SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT!

Miss Devel rises from her gurney, dons her lab coat and goggles, and scurries downstairs where the little monsters are sporting various household appliances--laptops, toasters, vintage Victrolas--where their heads should be. She does her best to sort out the mixup, with marginal success. But no sooner does she get the small monsters to pull out their teeth, wet their beds, and settle down, something else is not quite right.

FOR OFF IN THE DISTANCE SHE HEARD SUCH A CLATTER
SHE SPRANG FROM HER SLEEP TO SEE WHAT WAS THE MATTER!

Little Frankenstein crashes through the castle door with a fir tree fresh from the graveyard decorated with bats and bones, just as Miss Devel hears a sound from the rooftop:

ON WHOZIT, ON WHATZIT, ON ALL OF YOU OTHERS!

Santa, his sleigh, and his full pack crash through the rickety roof, and among the creepy contents of his sack are replacement heads for all the little monsters. After having a giggly good time trying on each other's heads, the monsters finally get it right, and as a reward Santa offers them all a sleepover at the North Pole, while Miss Devel gladly takes the option of a night off and returns to her gurney for a monster-free GOODNIGHT!

In their Frankenstein's Fright Before Christmas (Feiwel and Friends Fiends, 2014), Rick Walton and Nathan Hale morph together to take on the tropes of two classics, Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline and Clement Clarke Moore's The Night Before Christmas in a monster mash that would tickle even the Grinch's funny bone. Using Bemelman's familiar verse form and illustrative style with a haunted castle setting for St. Nick's visit, the two create a Christmas spoof that brings down the house (almost). Parodying two classics of kid lit simultaneously is no small feat, but as Ludworst Bemonster, this duo carries off this rather sophisticated parody with elan, frightful fun, and monstrous mirth. Savvy young readers will recognize what Walton and Hale are up to here and find this one a happy seasonal stocking stuffer.

Walton's and Hale's first collaboration was Frankenstein (read my 2012 review here.)

Counting the Days: The Twelve Days of Christmas by Dan Andreasen



ON THE TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME
TWELVE DRUMMERS DRUMMING....

How does the partridge in the pear tree feel about being one-upped? The cute little partridge tot in Dan Andreasen’s timely The Twelve Days of Christmas (Sleeping Bear Press, 2012), is a bit overwhelmed by the holiday bru-ha-ha. And when you think about it, who wouldn’t be?

Eschewing the rococo Renaissance setting that many notable illustrators have brought  to this classic Yuletide carol, Dan Andreasen’s new version features a controlled  palette in slightly subdued pastel tints. His plump little partridge reacts to the growing crowd around him with a hint of hesitation, even though Andreasen’s multiplying characters are mostly a benevolent bunch, four French hens wearing (what else?) blue berets, seven milkmaid kitties in kirtles and caps, and nine waltzing lady bunnies. But as the crowd increases, even these characters can be intimidating, and as twelve drumming turtles tap-a-tap-tap their snares and all the other celebrants circle ‘round the center of attention, our little partridge huddles, wings over ears.

It’s all in good fun as the classic Christmas song brings the count back down to the reluctant little star, our little golden partridge. There are plenty of fabulously fancy editions of this carol–-Jan Brett’s sumptuous outing in her signature style, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and Laurel Long’s splendidly lavish, traditionally embellished The Twelve Days of Christmas. But for tots just coming to the song, Andreasen’s brand-new version hits just the right note.

You're On, Sugar Plum! Mary Engelbreit's Nutcracker by Mary Englebreit

AS THE CAR ROLLED THROUGH THE NIGHT, THE NUTCRACKER WONDERED WHAT WAS IN STORE.

THEY STOPPED IN FRONT OF A LOVELY HOUSE ALL AGLOW WITH FESTIVE LIGHT. BEFORE YOU COULD SAY "MERRY CHRISTMAS," THE NUTCRACKER WAS INSIDE.

Popular author/illustrator Mary Engelbreit takes a few liberties with her version of the classic Christmas ballet in her new MaryEngelbreit'sNutcracker (Harper, 2011). As always, the avuncular Drosselmeyer is there, giving Marie a large, droll nutcracker for her gift, and little brother Fritz, jealous in all versions, plays his part in breaking the poor fellow's lower jaw "accidentally on purpose." As ever, Marie mends her Nutcracker, giving him a sympathetic kiss, wakes to strange sounds, and finds her Nutcracker engaged in warfare with the scary MouseKing from the tree and Fritz's battalion of toy soldiers. When the Nutcracker is imperiled by the overwhelming forces, Marie rushes to his aid as ever. And, just as we expect, as soon as Marie throws that shoe, we're off to a never-never land, with dancing flutes and sugar plum fairies, fountains of goodies, exotic dances, and a twirl with the transformed Nutcracker, now the Prince of this magical land.

With all the traditional plot elements in place, Engelbreit takes a couple of liberties with the classic outline of the Tales of Hoffmann, which in its original iteration was far more an adolescent girl's surreal fantasy of romance with a handsome Prince who loves her for her steadfast and loyal heart. Engelbreit's Marie is much younger, a round-cheeked primary-schooler, and the setting is changed to a kitschy 1920s ambiance, one well suited to her intended audience of preschoolers and early elementary school readers. In this version, Marie doesn't awake to find the Nutcracker's broken jaw magically restored while he remains a nutcracker, with only dreamlike memories left of her romantic fugue: here Marie actually gets a royal promisory proposal right on the spot from the Nutcracker Prince:

"YOU FREED ME FROM THE MOUSEKING'S SPELL.

IF YOU AGREE, WHEN YOU ARE GROWN, I'LL RETURN AND MAKE YOU QUEEN OF TOYLAND."

... AND IN THAT MAGICAL PLACE, THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

And that Disney-style denouement is not likely to displease the designated audience in this rococo setting. Engelbreit's legions of fans will love this ending, non-traditional as it may be. with her easily recognizable illustrative style in ample evidence and her fulsome line and palette certainly given a tailor-made expression here.

But for my money, the best choice, especially for children who may be planning to see the actual ballet, is Susan Jeffers' lovely classic, The Nutcracker.

With simple but lyrical text and elegantly beautiful full-page illustrations based on the Ballanchine ballet's staging of the dance, this one has it all, doing justice to its classic source while inspiring the imagination of the reader in that way that a nearly perfect picture book has the power to do.

Letter-Perfect: A Bad Kitty Christmas by Nick Bruel

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
AND ALL THROUGH THE CITY,

NOT A CREATURE WAS STIRRING...
EXCEPT FOR BAD KITTY.

Tumbled trash cans in a littered, snow-covered alley, a tiny black cat encircled by rats--how did that scamp of a Bad Kitty wind up in such a situation on Christmas Eve?

It all begins on a dark pre-Christmas morn when Bad Kitty's beleaguered owner is awakened to a clatter downstairs.

THAT'S WHEN I FOUND KITTY
IN THE MIDST OF HER CAPER.
SHE'D TORN THROUGH THE GIFTS
AND WAS COVERED WITH PAPER.

It's a Kitty catastrophe, in alphabetical order, no less. The decked halls have been besieged, besmirched, and de-decked!

THE MANGER WAS MAULED.
THE NUTCRACKER NAILED.
THE ORNAMENTS OUSTED,
THE POINSETTIA WAS PAILED.

It seems Bad Kitty was displeased with her Yuletide haul, preferring an alphabetical list of critters from Apes and Bears to Yak fried with Zebra Tail.

Bad Kitty is admonished and scolded and made to feel guilty for her greed, but after a grueling cleanup, with a still grouchy Kitty and the ever clueless, ever-drooling Puppy in the backseat, Kitty's overwhelmed owner sets forth for the annual Christmas Eve visit with Uncle Murray. Still miffed, Bad Kitty launches herself out the window and disappears down the darkling mean streets, and it looks like she will be spending the night before Christmas (and many nights to follow) in an alley with only rats for company.

But lucky Kitty. An old woman notices her plight and scoops her up to take home for the night.

I'LL TAKE YOU UPSTAIRS
TO DRY OFF YOUR FUR.
"WOULD YOU LIKE SOME FOOD?
AND THIS KITTY SAID--
"PURR!"

In her shabby one-room flat, the old woman splits her Yuletide can of sardines with Kitty, and sitting with her beside her tiny table-top tree, she pulls out her album and shares her warm memories of Christmas past with Kitty, as well as a bit of her well-earned wisdom:

"LITTLE CAT, THIS IS WHAT
CHRISTMAS SHOULD BE.
IT'S NOT ABOUT STUFF FROM
A BIG SPENDING SPREE.

CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT ... FAMILY.

But unbeknown to Bad Kitty, there is someone--someone from her family--with the right stuff to sniff out her trail and bring her home on Christmas Eve to her own long-suffering family. It's Puppy, who bravely followed her out the car window and has been resolutely tracking her down through the snow, right to the old woman's door.

It's a Happy Christmas to all in Nick Bruel's top-selling new picture book, A Bad Kitty Christmas (Roaring Brook Press, 2011). There's no kitty like Bad Kitty, and here she returns in a full-sized picture book format in all her comic cat glory. There are hilarious illustrations of Kitty and Puppy, a sly spoof of the old "Night Before Christmas" story, three awesome abecedariuses in rollicking rhyme interspersed in the text, and a sweet story--one of malicious mischief, a prodigal pussycat, remorseful redemption, and family found--by the close of this one, with to all a good night after all.

Take this Kitty home for Christmas!

But don't just take it from me. As you may have noticed, I'm an unabashed Bad Kitty fan, but I'm not the only one. As Kirkus Reviews writes, “A witty and original take on the old Christmas Eve chestnut, with a sweet twist to season the fun.” PURRRR!

Workshop Walkout: The Great Reindeer Rebellion by Lisa Trumbauer

NO PAY
NO SLEIGH

It's what any entrepreneur fears! A work stoppage on the EVE of a major deadline!

But that's the situation Santa faces on Christmas Eve. The product stands ready for delivery. Clients are waiting for their shipments as always, with visions of sugarplums to keep them awake for that happy sound of hooves on the roof.

But the hooves are a no go. The reindeer are picketing the workshop with signs and chanting:

"We're striking, dear Santa.
And until things get better,
No pulling or flying.
We're in this together."

Labor relations have definitely broken down, along with St. Nick's transport system, and to meet his reindeer-power needs, Santa realizes that he's going to have to scare up some scabs. An ad produces lots of would-be workers. Dogs, cats, flamingos, kangaroos, elephants, all show up, hoping to harness up and share the glory of delivering the goods on Christmas Eve.

But each group has its limitations: the dogs veer off course at the first sniff of something delicious; the cats are sidetracked by mice; the flamingos, although natural flyers, discover that they can't stand on rooftops on just one leg; and the kangaroos--well, they shoplift from the workshop, hiding the stolen goods in their pouches. Elephants are honest and dependable, good landers and standers, but their weight proves too much for the test rooftops, which collapse before Santa can even climb down their chimneys.

At last St. Nick agrees to negotiate with his rebellious reindeer, who settle for a few perks--a whirlpool sauna in which to relax after their annual trip and a lifetime contract for cable TV for their break room. At last the transportation department does its duty and Santa's delivery gets off the ground just in time to whirl around the world before dawn.

Lisa Trumbauer's and Jannie Ho's latest collaboration, The Great Reindeer Rebellion (Sterling, 2009), adds another roguish reindeer narration to the bookshelf of Santa's jolly journeys on Christmas Eve.