The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker: Press the note to hear Tchaikovsky's music (Volume 2) (The Story Orchestra, 2)

I bought this book for our grandson and was originally going to wait for Christmas and thought instead, what better way to anticipate Christmas than reading (and listening) to the Nutcracker! So it became part of his birthday gift instead. This book feels special and it is. The outside has a firm kind of fabric-feel and is beautiful. The illustrations are lovely and I like that the battery is on the back and had the strip that prevents playing prior to the purchaser pulling it. Our little guy just puts his tiny finger over the musical notes and they play the corresponding sections of the Nutcracker Suite - which was a family Christmas (the ballet) tradition from my childhood. Great way to anticipate and celebrate Christmas and traditions, I love it!

Huge fan of the story orchestra books! My kids love these books! They never grow tired of them. The sound quality is fantastic and illustrations are beautiful. My 2 and 4 year old both enjoy these books nutcracker.

I bought all of these books, and I am leaving this same review on all of them. My two-year-old loves them! The music is very clear as long as you hold the book upright, and, to be honest, I am surprised by how clear it is even when it's laying down. The illustrations are beautiful, and there are so many things to look at on each page! For instance, in the Four Seasons book, there are easter eggs in spring, and on one page in another book, there is a tiny spider. I could talk to my toddler about one page for five minutes easily because there is so much to look at. In some of the books, there are some thoughtful illustrations to demonstrate the instruments being played. In the Carnival of Animals book, there is a bunny playing a flute, for instance, when there is music that is mostly played by flutes. Also my toddler is able to press the buttons. It is a little hard, but he manages it okay. Well worth the price tag!

My daughter loved another book in this series beginning at 18mos. This book at 2years for Christmas was a hit! The buttons are somewhat difficult but I’m not sure how they could improve that given the way the book is made. These books are beautiful and make great gifts.

I purchased this for my 5 year old granddaughter’s birthday (prior to her being n a nutcracker performance with her dance studio. It is a beautiful book and a great introduction to the story and music of the ballet.

The artwork is beautiful. The book is well made. The cover is heavy and textured like linen. The pages are quality paper. My 3 year old granddaughter is enchanted by the music when she presses the musical note. The note can require quite a bit of pressure so we press it together. The notes are all located at the end of the book. They are easier to press when you get to those and she is able to do it herself. When we finish reading the story and get to the end she presses each note, first from 1 to 10 then counts down 10 to 1. I read it to her before bedtime every Friday night when she sleeps over. I was so impressed with it that I bought the rest of the books in the series.

This was a Christmas gift for my ballet loving 5 year old, and she loves it. The book is well made and sturdy, the music is beautiful, the artwork is fabulous, and the story is simple and sweet. I can't wait to get more Story Orchestra books.

Beautiful construction and "feel". Nice pictures. Should (a) longer, with more pages (there far fewer than the thickness of the book would suggest), and (b) the music snippets should be far longer. They are only about 5-8 seconds long. Should be at least 30 seconds. In the thick rear cover (carrying the button actuators, and music chip, and battery, there is room for memory for the word's collection of ballets. Your cellphone has 20,000,000 times the memory of the chip in this book. They are short-changing us, in terms of number of pages, and amount of music. But, as mentioned, it is a good-looking book.