The Toymaker's Apprentice

August 10, 2015
Stefan Drosselmeyer’s mother has just died at the start of Smith’s (Orleans) fantasy riff on Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” Stefan, apprenticed to his toy maker father, wants to ease his grief by spending his journeyman years somewhere other than his home of Napoleonic-era Nuremberg. Luckily, his father’s cousin, Christian, takes him on. Christian is clock maker to the King of Boldavia, and a royal appointment promises Stefan the best working materials and the heights of prestige. However, Christian came to Nuremberg on a quest that has driven him for seven long years—and made him the enemy of every rat and mouse in the world, especially the Queen of Mice, who is attempting to make her people into an army. Smith’s usage of elements from Hoffmann, Dumas’s later adaptation, and the perennially popular Nutcracker ballet is extremely clever, though the dreamlike fantasy realms of Hoffmann and the solidity of Smith’s Nuremberg mesh less well. Stefan is a personable protagonist, but while his story inescapably recalls the terrors and wonders of the original, it doesn’t quite succeed in recreating them. Ages 10–up.

July 15, 2015
Men and mice engage in mortal conflict in this multilayered retelling of The Nutcracker. Apprenticed to his master-toymaker father in early-19th-century Nuremberg, Stefan Drosselmeyer's world changes after his beloved mother's funeral. His clockmaker cousin and his traveling companion, an Arab, arrive from Boldavia after a seven-year quest for the "meat of a nut called a krakatook." The vengeful Queen of Mice, mother to her seven-headed royal princes, has turned the human princess of Boldavia into a wooden doll, and only that rare nut can cure her. Stefan finds the nut, and the ensuing journey to Boldavia to rescue his father, kidnapped by the mice, and cure the princess is filled with danger, mechanical toys, and a visit to wise squirrels. In alternating chapters, a troubadour rat and tutor to the mouse princes sings mournfully of his folk's disaster in Hameln, and one of those princes ruminates on his less-than-bellicose worldview. A grand battle takes place back in Nuremberg on Christmas Eve at the home of the Stahlbaums with a Nutcracker (Stefan), a slipper-tossing Marie, mechanical mice, and streets that swarm with real mice. No sweet strains of Tchaikovsky's ballet score waft through this complex tale of family devotion, revenge, and warfare. A fast-paced adventure whether or not all the characters are familiar. (author's note) (Fantasy. 10-13)

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Starred review from September 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-Part Nutcracker with a dash of Pinocchio, this middle grade debut by YA author Smith is an absorbing tale of adventure, invention, family loyalty, and sly humor. Stefan Drosselmeyer and his father, a master toymaker, are in their home in Nuremberg grieving the recent loss of Stefan's mother. Enter flamboyant cousin Christian Drosselmeyer, who involves them in a perilous quest. Christian, the master clockmaker for the kingdom of Boldavia, was held responsible for a mouse uprising, and during a fight for the kingdom, the human princess was bitten by the maniacal Mouse Queen and turned into wood. The only known cure for her condition is a krakatook, a nut that is proving impossible to find. Before Stefan and Christian can return to the search in earnest, Stefan's father is kidnapped. The quest to find him and the krakatook and save Boldavia from the vengeful Mouse Queen and her seven-headed son while escaping with their lives is almost the undoing of the Drosselmeyers. Suspense builds as the chapters alternate between human and rodent perspective. Bursting with unforgettable characters of both species (and a few others), the novel rushes along to its inevitable final battle and enlightening conclusion. The author's note describes the connection to the original Nutcracker, which inspired Alexandre Dumas's retelling and the well-known ballet. VERDICT Fans of both genres will relish this highly recommended historical fantasy.-Sara-Jo Lupo Sites, George F. Johnson Memorial Library, Endicott, NY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2015
Grades 4-6 In this inventive fantasy, Smith imagines an elaborate backstory for events in the Nutcracker ballet. Stefan Drosselmeyer is a kind, clever Nuremburg lad whose father, a toymaker, is kidnapped and imprisoned in Boldavia. With advice and help from his older cousin Christian and their friend Samir, Stefan travels among the squirrels to the Pagoda Tree, where he discovers how to crack the nut that will break the deformity spell binding the Boldavian princess, in hopes of setting his father free. Meanwhile, in the rodent world, Ernst is an educated but down-on-his-luck rat who becomes tutor to the Mouse Queen's heir, a seven-headed mouse princeling (later the Mouse King) who swears vengeance on Stefan after his mother's death. It's a great, sprawling story, elaborately plotted and brimful of elements such as a near-impossible quest, an apparent death overturned, and elaborate clockworks that keep the city running. While the many details and complications weigh the intertwined stories down, this full-tilt adventure will appeal to certain fantasy fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)