Nutcracker

Clara receives a nutcracker from her godfather Drosselmeyer on Christmas Eve. That night she dreams the nutcracker is fighting with toy soldiers against the army of the Mouse King. Clara helps the nutcracker and it transforms into a prince. Together they travel to the land of sweets and celebrate a wonderful sweet festival with the Sugar Plum Fairy. It was all just an amazing dream - or was it...?

E.T.A. Hoffman's magical tale of an enchanted nutcracker, an evil mouse king, and a faithful young girl has been a holiday classic for generations. Combined here with the much-loved music of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, the narrated story unfolds with a bewitching blend of wonder and drama that is sure to delight time and time again.

When young Marie Stahlbaum's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive, she realizes that she is about to start the adventure of a lifetime. After defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, her handsome Nutcracker whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.

Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults, Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.

You've been hearing it since you were a kid: "You are what you eat." And this wise saying is true! Good nutrition is the key to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight and lifelong good health - no matter how you slice it. Nutrition for Dummies, 6th Edition is a one-size-fits-all guide to nutrition that shows you how to manage your diet so you get the most bang for your buck. This book gives you the know-how to put together a shopping list, prepare healthy foods, and easily cut calories.

When Clara Stahlbaum receives a beautiful yet mysterious egg-shaped box from her late mother, she wonders what it means. Searching for answers, Clara soon finds herself in a magical world - the Four Realms - where she meets a host of colorful and curious new friends and discovers the fascinating link between the Realms and her dear mother. But when she learns that the Realms are in danger of being destroyed, Clara vows to help. Years earlier, Clara’s mother, Marie, is a lonely orphan adopted by an eccentric inventor.

10-year-old Johnny's toymaker father has volunteered for service in the British Army of World War I. At first, his spirits are high as he completes basic training, but his tone becomes grim once he reaches the front. To ease his son's worries, Johnny's dad carves him little figurines that reflect his experiences in the war. Comprised of letters from his father, followed by Johhny's feelings, Lord of the Nutcracker Men is a haunting and poignant tale.

This is the perfect gift to share with children before they see The Nutcracker. Everyone who has seen the ballet will cherish it - as will anyone who enjoys stories where love triumphs. Come, take a front-row seat. The world's most beloved holiday fairy tale is about to begin.

With their inheritance restricted until their marriage, sisters Clara and Louisa, both in their twenties, must live with their godfather Drosselmeyer. One night, an accident brings to life one of the strange wooden dolls in Drosselmeyer's mansion. The Nutcracker doll is a cursed Fae prince, and he pleads for the sisters' help. During the ensuing journey into the Fae realm, Clara encounters the handsome Sugarplum Faerie, and he promises her the chance to enact all her forbidden fantasies.

The place didn’t feel like Christmas. Nothing did anymore. What Marie wanted, she couldn’t possibly have. A leaky air mattress and a self-absorbed aunt was all she got. But Christmas wasn’t about what you wanted; it was about what you needed. Godfather told her that. That was when he told her the tale of the nutcracker.

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (German: Nußknacker und Mausekönig) is a story written in 1816 by E. T. A. Hoffmann in which young Marie Stahlbaum's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.

It’s time for the first Christmas market at The Pearl Hotel, but when the festivities take a sinister turn, bestselling author and amateur sleuth, Serena Tate, must help find the assailant before they strike again. When Serena Tate’s twin daughters propose a unique holiday venture to Nina Takeda, the owner of The Pearl Hotel, Serena is reluctant to give her approval. Her friends, Mia and Lily, support the girls' plan, so Serena changes her opinion, and The Merry and Bright Christmas Market is underway. As the festive season kicks into high gear, the hotel is alive with holiday cheer—...

Eleven-year-old Juniper Lane is thrown into a Christmas adventure like no other when she seeks the help of a mysterious woodsman living in her local park, who she suspects is Santa himself, and accidentally gets exposed to North Pole magic. Join a boisterous cast of characters—including a neighbor who always believed in Santa, a young reindeer in training, and a cutthroat crime boss out to steal Santa’s magic—on an unpredictable journey bursting with Eoin Colfer’s signature exuberance and merriment.

Hanna and Alex, owners of the Murder and Mayhem book and chocolate shop, are busy preparing for the Harriston High School’s reunion weekend. Neighbors will connect with old friends and perhaps try to avoid old foes. One person no one can avoid is Kyle, the former star quarterback, who is busy using his entire playbook to try and score with Hanna, even threatening her if she doesn’t play nice. At the reunion, Alex glimpses more drama than nostalgia as insults are flung around. The party is put on hold when Alex finds the dead body of none other than Kyle himself.

Hiddensee recreates the backstory of the Nutcracker, reimaging how this entrancing creature came to be carved and how it magically guided an ailing little girl named Klara through a dreamy paradise on a snowy Christmas Eve. It also brings to life the mysterious godfather Drosselmeier - the ominous, canny, one-eyed toymaker made immortal by Petipa and Tchaikovsky's ballet - who presents the once and future Nutcracker to Klara, his goddaughter.

At 17 years old, I’m not ready to marry, and yet that’s what I must do as the crown princess of Austria. But getting to know the foreign princes visiting my kingdom becomes the least of my worries when I touch a bespelled nutcracker and unleash a deadly curse. I have 12 days to feed the nutcracker the magical nut Crackatook. If I fail, my soul will become trapped inside the toy for all eternity, and my body will turn to wood....

For much of his life, historian Howard Zinn chronicled American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official version taught in schools - with its emphasis on great men in high places - to focus on the street, the home, and the workplace. Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, A People's History of the United States is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of - and in the words of - America's women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, the working poor, and immigrant laborers.

Light and dark—this is the cursed birthright placed upon Clara and Natasha by their godfather, Drosselmeyer, whose power and greed hold an entire city in his sway. Charming Clara, the favorite, grows into a life of beauty and ease, while ignored and unloved Natasha is relegated to her sister’s shadow. But the opportunity for revenge announces itself one Christmas Eve, when Drosselmeyer arrives at their family gala with the Nutcracker, an enchanted gift that offers entry into an alternate world: the Kingdom of Sweets.

For Clara Stahlbaum, this Christmas means the end of her youth. A daughter of the aristocracy, Clara is expected to give up her dreams of adventures and the extraordinary for more normal days as the wife of a cruel viscount. But when magical Uncle Drosselmeyer returns with his wondrous, dancing contraptions and one special gift for Clara, she is beckoned to the land of Winter Dream, where she is thrust into the greatest adventure of her wildest dreams.

Unsure of how he escaped the prison known as Ivanov's Home for Orphaned Boys, Fritz finds himself the newest apprentice in the most powerful wizard consortium, The Order. After uncovering clues to a decade-old murder, Fritz becomes the unwitting target of someone who wants him dead. Now Fritz is in a race against time to unravel the clues and unmask the murderer before the next kill. If he has any hopes of surviving, Fritz must unify his fellow group of dysfunctional apprentices and confront the most deadly enemy he's ever known.