THE NUTCRACKER COMES TO AMERICA by Chris Barton

The Nutcracker Comes to America. By Chris Barton. Illus. by Cathy Gendron. Millbrook Press, 2015. 36 pages. $19.99. 

It will be September 1st when this post goes up. I consider summer a memory (although the heat here in Texas doesn't want to let up). Isn't it a wonderful idea to be thinking about the holidays? 

The picture book I am sharing today is serene  enough to bring us gently into that fall-November-then-holiday bustle -- without compelling worrying thoughts about shopping lists -- or getting the perfect gift. 

Indeed, Chris Barton has already given us one. 

In The Nutcracker Comes to America (Milbrook Press, 2015), author Chris Barton (of Shark vs. Train fame!) chronicles the true story of the Christensen brothers, William, Lew, and Harold. Their family owns a dancing school, so they are always dancing and their passion is indeed dance! (I love that part.) Life's circumstances separate them all sporadically throughout the early 1900s. Then brother William learns about a ballet named The Nutcracker - and true to the venturing spirit of this family he decides to put on a smaller portion of it -- in June! More time passes, and soon, William and Harold work on another full show of The Nutcracker  while Lew serves in the army. (This time the show is in December.) With perseverance and a driving goal, the brothers overcome obstacles such as time, distance and lack of funds to eventually put on The Nutcracker together - with history-making impact. 

The back matter in this book is substantial (though not overwhelming). Included are an author's note, an illustrator's note, a timeline of the brothers' life with black and white photographs, a summary of The Nutcracker story, and a bibliography. 

Written in a friendly, storytelling kind of way, young readers are drawn in, and Gendron's illustrations give them reason more to move forward. Illustrations are soft yet pronounced -- and a book about dance that must show movement on paper absolutely does - with lush color and expert placement of elements and details. 

A particularly stunning spread in the book is one in which dancers chat back stage at William's first production of The Nutcracker while others dance to  the Waltz of the Flowers. With their joyous smiles and the soft purple light up top as banners on the page, one can almost feel as if they are behind the curtain, too, experiencing the buzz of a brilliant dance performed. 

Barton narrates the brothers' tale skillfully, chronicling the ups and downs of their collaboration, and by the end, the reader understands this is indeed a holiday story but also more. The Nutcracker Comes to America is about family and how sometimes, what connects you to them is what you all love to do together. 

This book is history, tradition and storytelling all in one. I believe it will be part of many holiday traditions, displays, and book lists for years to come. 

Read more about the book here.