When I was a little girl, my parents took me and my sister to the Nutcracker ballet every year. It was one of the highlights of the Christmas season. I have loved the story of the Nutcracker since before I can remember. When I was about five or six, all I wanted was a Nutcracker for Christmas and to be just like Clara. To my delight, I opened the most beautiful nutcracker on Christmas morning and I spent the next several days listening to the music and dancing the part of Clara all over our basement. Naturally, reading The Nutcracker by ETA Hoffman has become a Christmas tradition for me and my enjoyment of story has not abated, though I am no longer a little girl. I hope this story fills your holidays with as much magic as it has mine!