A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas

A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas is a madcap mash-up of Where the Wild Things Are, Candyland and The Nutcracker.  It's a super cool romp through the world of imagination, the depths of which are best explored sans electronic distractions.

Ralph Covert (of kiddie rock band Ralph's World) and G. Reilly Mills have penned a remarkable tale of adventure, heroism and the creative power that lies between a child's ears.  They've also crafted a beautiful, mystical method to explain exactly how toys become toys before ending up in Santa's big red bag.   

Wilson Swain's illustrations fill each page to the brim without ever managing to overwhelm the eyes.  A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas features truly delicious eye candy artwork - and not just the barbershop pole peppermint trees of Christmas Wood!

A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas is an instant holiday classic.

The book also comes with a bonus CD, on which Mr. Covert reads the story - my girls listen to this on repeat, in between the Mrs. and I reading the book itself.  The Bear has declared A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas "her favorite book!".  Also on the disc are a handful of kid's rock songs based on the story, including Covert's wonderful "Welcome to Christmas Wood", but not all the tunes hit the mark.  Visit Chronicle Books A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas page to hear samples of all the CD's tracks and to download an activity sheet from illustrator Wilson Swain.

A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas had it's genesis in the theater.  The story was originally set as a musical, and viola! it is again this holiday season.  Catch the show at the Emerald City Theater (running from 11/14/09 - 1/2/10) in Covert's hometown of Chicago, IL.

Catch Ralph's World live, which is also a treat...anytime of year.

*A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas was provided to OWTK for review. The opinions expressed above are unbiased and true - no arm twisting took place in the review process.