Cajun Nutcracker, The

It's Christmas Eve on Bayou Teche and young Merrae is celebrating with PawPaw, MawMaw, and other guests. As she eats steaming gumbo and dances to the sounds of Zydeco, Merrae's excitement grows when her godfather Comeaux arrives with gifts-including a precious Nutcracker. But Merrae's brother breaks the toy out of jealousy, so her godfather bandages the Nutcracker and carefully places him in a crib for the night.

That night, Merrae finds her home under attack by a swarm of nutria and the Alligator King. As the creatures begin to close in on Merrae, the Nutcracker and his soldiers come to her rescue! The Nutcracker then turns into a prince and takes Merrae on a magical journey through the swamp.

Whimsical illustrations capture the ballet scenes that follow when the two arrive in New Orleans, where they meet the Sugarcane Fairy, waltzing magnolias, and twirling beignets. Cajun words and French phrases celebrate Louisiana culture in this imaginative take on the classic ballet.

Native New Orleanian Chara Dillon Mock is an education coordinator and ballet teaching artist at the New Orleans Ballet Association. In addition to dancing her first production of The Nutcracker with the New Orleans City Ballet, she performed works with the Jefferson Performing Arts Society, Ballet Hysell, and the University of Kansas Dance Company at the University of Kansas, where she received her BA in dance. Mock has been studying dance for more than three decades. She lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Jean Cassels is a teacher at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts. She attended the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Illinois School of Art & Design, where she received a BA in studio arts. An author and illustrator of more than sixty books, Cassels has received such honors as the SIBA Book Award, Golden Kite Award for Best Illustrated Children's Book, and the LSU Giverny Award, among others. She lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.