As Merrae dances with her friends and family to the sound of washboards and banjos, her excitement only grows when she receives a Nutcracker from Perrain for Christmas. But later that night, she awakes to find herself surrounded by nutrias and the evil Alligator King. Soon toy soldiers and the heroic Nutcracker come to life and begin to battle the creatures. After Merrae is saved by the Nutcracker, they sail through the swamp to see the Sugar Cane Fairy, where the air smells sweet with magnolias.

 

This book has been graded for interest at 5-8 years.

There are 32 pages in this book. This book was published 2011 by Pelican Publishing Co .

Jean Cassels is the author and/or illustrator of more than children's 60 books, including Two Bobbies , about a dog and cat that were rescued after Hurricane Katrina. The book, which she illustrated, won over 20 state children's choice awards. A resident of New Orleans, Jean was chosen to create the poster for Rex, King of Carnival and Mardi Gras, which will go to The Historic New Orleans Collection. Native New Orleanian Chara Dillon Mock is an education coordinator and ballet teaching artist at the New Orleans Ballet Association. In addition to dancing her first production of The Nutcracker with the New Orleans City Ballet, she performed works with the Jefferson Performing Arts Society, Ballet Hysell, and the University of Kansas Dance Company at the University of Kansas, where she received her BA in dance. Mock has been studying dance for more than three decades. She lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jean Cassels is a teacher at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts. She attended the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Illinois School of Art & Design, where she received a BA in studio arts. Cassels has received such honors as the Golden Kite Award for Best Illustrated Children's Book and the LSU Giverny Award, among others. She lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.