The Nutcracker

Celebrate the holidays with this bestselling Christmas classic.

Adults as well as children look forward to attending an annual performance of The Nutcracker. To sweeten the anticipation and prolong the joy -- or just to establish a lovely tradition -- settle in with this charming retelling of a young girl's dreamy visit to the Land of the Sugarplum Fairy. The story is enhanced with magnificent color illustrations created especially for this edition by the late award-winning artist Don Daily. This high-quality, handsomely produced volume is destined to be a holiday favorite for years to come.

E. T. A. Hoffman (1776-1822) was a short-story writer and novelist who ranked among the major figures of German romanticism. He was also a composer, designer, music critic, and a conductor of the Leipzig and Dresden operas. He is best known for creating the story of the Nutcracker, which was set to music by Peter Llyich Tchaikovsky in 1892, becoming an instant classic.

Don Daily illustrated many classic children's books and anthologies for Running Press Kids, including The Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables. He also created posters for many films, including The Lone Ranger, The Great Santini, and Roots. Daily's work has appeared in such magazines as Reader's Digest, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping.