I just finished inking in all the drawings for “The Nutcracker.” I had so much fun doing these illustrations, which is strange because I absolutely did not want to do this story. I had seen the ballet and had taken Mikayla to see it when she was younger and we both had the same reaction– we thought it would never end. Mikayla kept asking ”When are they going to start talking??” And for some reason, several things just creeped me out– the evil-looking toymaker, the 7-headed rat king– good grief, who dreamed this stuff up?? (It was E.T.A. Hoffmann, whom I’m sure was a lovely man) I found out I was not alone in my thinking: every time I would tell someone I was going to illustrate the Nutcracker, every single person, save one ballet-o-phile, said “Oh, good– can you make it so it’s not so creepy?” Harper Collins was nice enough to give me complete free-reign on the illustrations and I had so much fun– I don’t think I’ve ever finished the drawings for a book so quickly! I made the toymaker charming and friendly, the Rat King only has one head and of course everyone lives happily ever after (Although Marie’s little brother Fritz is still kind of a jerk).
I’m sure there will be some purists out there who like The Nutcracker just the way it is. For them I put in all the other elements of the story in the illustrations somewhere– a little Nutcracker Where’s Waldo, if you will. Plus they can go sit through that ballet if they want the whole effect. I’ll be home with Mikayla reading my cute, cozy, warm and fuzzy version and I hope you will be, too! But it won’t be out until Fall 2011. This year you’ll be able to get my new Fairy Tale book, and I’ll show you some illustrations from that as we get closer to its’ release. But for now, here’s a little sneak peek at “The Nutcracker.” Leave a comment and let me know if you like it.
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~Mary
