The Nutcracker story translated from the original German and enhanced with the artwork of Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are). The artwork is wonderful, but limited, it is far more story than a picture book. It is also a bit darker and mysterious than the story I'm familiar with from the ballet.

All in all I enjoyed the book, especially the The Story of the Hard Nut which gives the background of how the Nutcracker became cursed and why he's fighting the mouse king.

It makes me interested in seeing the Pacific Northwest production of the ballet that Maurice Sendak worked on which was the basis of the book's creation.