Random House Children’s Books is thrilled to publish this Holiday season, CHARLOTTE AND THE NUTCRACKER (Random House Books for Young Readers | On-sale December 1, 2021| Ages 4-8) by Charlotte Nebres and illustrated by Alea Marley. This beautifully illustrated, reimagined, modern take on the holiday favorite weaves together the classic Christmas tale of The Nutcracker and the true-life story of 12-year-old ballerina Charlotte Nebres, the first Black girl to play Marie in the New York City Ballet’s production.
The only thing Charlotte loves as much as ballet is Christmas. So, when she gets the opportunity to play Marie in the New York City Ballet’s The Nutcracker, she leaps at the chance. Dancing takes practice-hours of adjusting her arms and perfecting her jumps. With the help of her Trinidadian and Filipino families, encouragement from her sister, and a view of her mom and dad in the audience, Charlotte finds the strength to never give up.
In this spectacular debut full of fluid, dynamic illustrations, Charlotte provides readers with a multicultural tale of family, dance, and holiday cheer. At only 11 years old, Charlotte’s groundbreaking performance was covered by major media outlets including the New York Times, GMA, Essence, CBS, BET, the New York Post, and many more. Charlotte’s story is one of hard work, inspiration, and the sweetness that comes from never giving up.
Charlotte Nebres is a twelve-year-old pre-professional ballet dancer. Charlotte was the first Black dancer to be cast as Marie–the young heroine of “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker”–in New York City Ballet’s show. Her history-making performance during the 2019 holiday season was covered by The New York Times, CBS News, Essence, GMA, and more. Charlotte is currently a student at the School of American Ballet. Charlotte lives in New Jersey with her parents, brother, and sister. Find her on Instagram at @charlottenebres.
Alea Marley is a children’s illustrator living and working in England. Her books include Everybody’s Somewhere by Cornelia Spelman, Loretta’s Gift by Pat Zietlow Miller, The Many Colours Of Harpreet Singh by Supriya Kelkar, and A Day So Gray by Marie Lamba. Find Alea online at aleamarley.co.uk, and on Instagram at @aleamarley.com.
CHARLOTTE AND THE NUTCRACKER
by Charlotte Nebres; illustrated by Alea Marley
Random House Books for Young Readers | Hardcover | On sale December 1, 2021
HC: 9780593374900 | 40 pages│ $17.99 U.S |. $23.99 Can. | Ages 4 – 8
ebook: 9780593374924 │ $10.99 U.S. $11.99 Can.
Also available as an audiobook from Listening Library.
Random House Children’s Books (rhcbooks.com) is the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, and nonfiction, the imprints of Random House Children’s Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House Children’s Books is a division of Penguin Random House LLC.