I have the most beautiful, magical, amazing children’s book to share with you. Sometimes reviews are difficult for me to write because I hate to say anything bad about a product that has been given to me by someone who is paying me to write about it. But I also want to be truthful to you readers because my word is my word after all. So you can imagine how wonderful it is when I sign up for a product I that would rave about without even being paid. This book is that product. I don’t think I can rave about it enough. It’s so pretty! So beautifully illustrated! I just want to eat it! I think my photos will tell you all you need to see but I’ll rattle on anyway.

I bribed Bug with frozen yogurt and a trip to a local nail salon to get her to pose for these photos because, as you know, she’s not a girly girl anymore and she only likes to be seen wearing black, preferably black Hello Kitty. But to tell you the truth, when she opened up this book and we talked about dressing up to play a part in one of her favorite ballets, you should have seen the gleam in her eye. She might lead you to believe she’s too much of a tomboy to wear tutus and prance around to Tchaikovsky but she’s totally fooling herself. That girly-girl is still in there and she loved this book. We both do.

Bug can read now so it’s twice as much fun. I’ve seen the Nutcracker on stage but Bug has not yet though she’s heard about it plenty and seen small parts of it when the big girls performed at her dance recital. She’s seen Swan Lake with her dad and loved it. So I think it’s time we got tickets to see The Nutcracker now that the holiday season is so quickly approaching. I know! I’m sorry! I hate to be the one to remind you.

This book is the perfect introduction to the famous story. I love how touchable it is even though it is a pop-up book. I’ve long been frustrated with pop-up books. They are usually written for really young children but really young children love to rip up pop-up books. This book is can be appreciated by just about anyone at any age. I love looking at it. How the characters pop into the circle when you turn the page is fascinating.

Here’s a movie so you can see for yourself:

Isn’t it pretty? I wish snow fell when you turned the pages but that’s just a special effect of the movie. It does make me want to scoot closer to my heater and look out a window at snow that is not there. It’s fun to dream…

Here is Bug with her Black Cat flashlight that also has a jaw that snaps up and down like a nutcracker. She was in character to say the least.

Thank you, Nutcracker, for bringing back my old Bug to me. I missed her.

It’s a good thing I never got rid of all her old dress up clothes.

So if you have a girly-girl in your life or someone who loves ballet as much as we do, I say: you must get this book. It’s so pretty and very well made. You can buy it here and I have a 25% discount for you if you purchase it before November 30th, 2012. Just enter the promo code NUTCRACKER when you check out.

And guess what?!! I have one beaufiful book to give away. It’s sitting on my bookshelf right now so we don’t even have to worry about it being shipped from the manufacturer. I’ll send it to you personally. Bug might even write you a little note to go with it.

Feeling lucky? Just comment below about what is special to you when you think of The Nutcracker and I will randomly pick one winner next Monday. I can’t wait to hear your stories!