Review of The Muttcracker

by Shoshana Flax
Nov 24, 2025 | Filed in Book Reviews

The MuttcrackerThe Muttcracker
by Anna Kemp; illus. by Sara Ogilvie
Preschool, Primary    Simon    32 pp.
9/25    9781665981033    $19.99

Bulldog Biff (Dogs Don’t Do Ballet) and his owner, our exuberantly voiced narrator, are cast as bonbons in The Nutcracker. It’s a disappointment—Biff especially wanted to be the Sugar Plum Fairy—but when a chance at that role presents itself, the choice he makes gives a sweet resolution to this energetic story of friendship and of making the best of things. And do our protagonists impress? You bet your bonbon. The brightly colored digital illustrations are dynamic, especially in spreads with multiple movement-filled vignettes of one or both members of the dancing duo.

From the November/December 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

Shoshana Flax

Shoshana Flax, associate editor of The Horn Book, Inc., is a former bookseller and holds an MFA in writing for children from Simmons University. She has served on the Walter Dean Myers Award, Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and Sydney Taylor Book Award committees.

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