When a boy is turned into an ugly nutcracker, Marie is his only key to freedom. He, in turn, holds the key to her heart. Marie longs for a friend who understands her, so when she gets a nutcracker for Christmas, she is immediately captivated by its sad eyes. Her empathy, passion and loyalty for the ugly toy lead to a series of strange dreams, ending with heartbreak when she wakes up to find the nutcracker gone. But waiting downstairs is the friend of her dreams...

 

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2015 by Hardie Grant Books .

Margrete Lamond was born in Norway and came to live in Australia when she was eight. She has published many plays, articles and short stories. She works at the School Magazine. Ritva Voutila was born in Finland, but has lived in Sydney since 1981. Her first children's book, 101 Excuses for Not Doing Homework by Carly Little (Scholastic), appeared in 1990 and it became a great success. Since then she has illustrated numerous books for children. She lives in Ballarat, north of Melbourne, with her husband Richard.