Lord of the Nutcracker Men (Cascades)

Lord of the Nutcracker Men (Cascades)

By Iain Lawrence

1 rating 1 review 2 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 10 - 9Z4.551767
A young boy gradually comes to understand the difference between his toy soldiers and the bloodshed of the First World War in this poignant story. Ten-year-old Johnny loves the army of nutcracker soldiers his toymaker father whittles for him. Johnny eagerly plays at war, demolishing imaginary foes. But in 1914, war with Germany looms, and all too soon Johnny's father is swept up in the war to end all wars as he proudly enlists to fight at the front in France. Johnny believes his father will be back in a few months, in time to celebrate Christmas with him and his mum. But the war is nothing like any soldier or person at home expected. It is brutal and horrific. The letters that arrive from Johnny's dad reveal the ugly realities of combat - and the soldiers he carves and encloses begin to bear its scars. Still, Johnny adds these soldiers to his armies of Huns, Tommies, and Frenchmen, engaging them in furious battle out in the muddy garden. His war games bind him to the father he longs to see again. But when these games seem to foretell his dad's real battles, Johnny thinks he possesses godlike powers over his wooden men. He fears he controls his father's fate, the lives of all the soldiers in no-man's-land, and the outcome of the war itself. In this haunting and poignant tale, Iain Lawrence explores the irrationality of war and its effect on lives that are all too fragile.
Publisher: Collins
ISBN-13: 9780007135578
ISBN-10: 0007135572
Published on 11/4/2004
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 272

Book Reviews (1)

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LTNM is another war story by Iain Lawrence. Unlike B for Buster, which is totally HF, LTNM has a little bit of "magical realism" in it, where parts of the plot seem magical in some way. Anything by Lawrence is extremely well written.