Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker

<b>Follow Clara on a magical Christmas adventure in this musical retelling of <i>The Nutcracker</i> ballet--push the button on each beautiful scene to hear the vivid sound of an orchestra playing from Tchaikovsky's score.</b> <p/>It is Christmas Eve at Clara's house. Scents of ginger chocolate and peppermint waft through the air. Clara's parents are having a party and her little brother Fritz is decorating the Christmas tree. Clara's godfather a toymaker arrives with gifts including a very special one for her--<b>a wooden nutcracker carved in the shape of a little man</b>. After Fritz breaks it the children are sent to bed. <p/>The story follows Clara in her dreams as she battles and defeats a mouse king then travels with her nutcracker-turned-prince to the Land of Sweets where she watches its enchanting inhabitants perform beautiful dances. As you and your little one journey through the magical scenes you will <b>press the buttons to hear 10 excerpts from the ballet's music</b> including The Waltz of the Flowers The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy The Russian Dance and the awesome Finale. <p/>Readers should <b>press firmly </b>on the pages to activate the sound board at the back of the book encouraging interactive learning and <b>introducing children to this beautiful piece of music</b>. <p/>At the back of the book find a short<b> biography of the composer</b> Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky with details about his composition of The Nutcracker ballet. Next to this you can replay the musical excerpts and for each of them read a <b>discussion of the instruments rhythms and musical techniques</b> that make them so powerful. A glossary defines musical terms. <p/><b>The Story Orchestra series</b> brings classical music to life for children through gorgeously illustrated retellings of classic ballet opera and program music stories paired with 10-second sound clips of orchestras playing from their musical scores. With The Story Orchestra keyboard sound books children can play the famous melodies themselves with the sound of a real grand piano. <p/><b>Also available from the Story Orchestra series</b>: <i>The Magic Flute</i> <i>I Can Play (vol 1)</i> <i>Carnival of the Animals</i> <i>Swan Lake</i> <i>The Sleeping Beauty</i> and <i>Four Seasons in One Day</i>. <p/><b>Manufacturer's note: </b> please pull the white tab out of the back of the book before use. Sound buttons require a firm push in exact location to work which may be hard for young children. All sound clips are 10 seconds long. <p/><b>The perfect primer to introduce children to classical music.</b>