The Night Before the Nutcracker

It’s a winter wonderland on ICAN! Tune into the Audio Book Tour on Thursday, December 18th, 2022 at 5:00PM Pacific! Portland illustrator, Julianna Swaney, discusses her art in The Night Before the Nutcracker written by John Robert Allman.

Cover art for The Night Before the Nutcracker published by Doubleday

Many families go see Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, The Nutcracker, every winter. Have you ever wondered how dancers prepare to step on stage? It’s normal to be nervous before a performance. This new book, presented by the American Ballet Theatre, goes behind the scenes at the ballet. The story is a twist on the classic poem The Night Before Christmas and shows that hard work and preparation can make for a festive celebration!

Image from The Night Before the Nutcracker and illustrator Julianna Swaney

Julianna Swaney is a talented artist working as a children’s book illustrator. She discusses how much time it takes to create the art (spoiler alert: over a year from start to published book!). You can see her images in The Night Before the Nutcracker and on her website.

You can hear ICAN’s Audio Book Tour every third Thursday at 5p PT with a rebroadcast the following Sunday at 8a PT. Check out more books featured in ICAN’s Audio Book Tour.

Activity, Artwork, Books, Dance, Music