S&S Children's lands Nutcracker-inspired tale by Katherine Woodfine

Simon & Schuster Children's UK has snapped up a new full-colour gift book, A Dancer’s Dream, by Katherine Woodfine. 

The Nutcracker-inspired story, written by Katherine Woodfine and illustrated by artist Lizzy Stewart, will be published in hardback on 29th October 2020. 

World rights for the text were acquired from Louise Lamont at LBA Books and illustrations from Suresh Ariaratnam at Sprung Sultan.

"In a snowy St Petersburg, a little girl called Stana longs to play the role of Clara in Tchaikovsky’s new ballet, The Nutcracker," reads the synopsis. "But when Stana’s dream comes true, and with all eyes on her, she must overcome her nerves and dance like she’s never danced before..."

Woodfine, who has been shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize, longlisted for the Branford Boase Award and nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, said: "Growing up, I loved ballet and dreamed of dancing the part of Clara myself. It was a delight to tell the story of the first dancer to play the role - and wonderful to see it transformed into an illustrated book with glorious new artwork from Lizzy Stewart. I’ve long been an admirer of Lizzy’s work and her gorgeous illustrations for this story are absolutely enchanting."

Stewart added: "It’s such a joy to work with a text that is so rich with beautiful imagery and history. Katherine's writing is so evocative and absorbing, it's been a delight to draw!"

A Dancer’s Dream joins a new boutique line of colour gift books which Simon & Schuster is launching in October 2019 with Abi Elphinstone and Fiona Woodcock’s The Snow Dragon. 

M.d. Rachel Denwood said: "A Dancer’s Dream is a jewel of a story, and the combination of Katherine Woodfine’s heartwarming text and Lizzy Stewart’s exceptional illustration is truly the perfect match. We’re very excited to build this new line of gift books which will showcase an extraordinary wealth of talent and hopefully become treasured future classics.”