GEORGE BALANCHINE'S THE NUTCRACKER

In the manner of Violette Verdy's step-by-step retellings (Of Swans, Sugarplums, and Satin Slippers, 1991), a scrupulously detailed narration explicating what's seen in a full performance of The Nutcracker—in this case, the new film version. The text is written with some grace, though it has the labored visual detail of words following film rather than fiction standing alone. The author's beautifully reproduced color photos, from tiny vignettes tucked into the text to full-bleed spreads, appear in profusion. Some are a bit small to read, and they don't really work together to tell the story, nor do they evoke the movement of the dance as an accomplished illustrator might; but they do convey the lush setting and costumes and the variety of characterizations and actions. Best are the spreads near the end, when the earnest explanations finally cease and the formal configurations of the dance—and the lavish settings—come into their own. An attractive book that will be most useful as a complement to the film. (Nonfiction. 5-12)