The Toymaker’s Apprentice

by Sherri L. Smith

Stefan Drosselmeyer is a reluctant apprentice to his toymaker father until the day his world is turned upside down. His father is kidnapped and Stefan is enlisted by his mysterious cousin, Christian Drosselmeyer, to find a mythical nut to save a princess who has been turned into a wooden doll.

Embarking on a wild adventure through Germany, Stefan must save Boldavia’s princess and his own father from the fanatical Mouse Queen and her seven-headed Mouse Prince, both of whom have sworn to destroy the Drosselmeyer family. 

[Based on the original inspiration for the Nutcracker ballet, the author brings the Nutcracker Prince to life in this fascinating journey into a world of toymaking, magical curses, clockmaking guilds, talking mice and erudite squirrels.]

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Christmas, Retellings, Childrens, Young Adult, Adventure

400 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 2015

About the author

Sherri L. Smith is the award-winning author of YA novels LUCY THE GIANT, SPARROW, HOT SOUR SALTY SWEET, FLYGIRL and ORLEANS. In October 2015, she makes her middle grade debut with THE TOYMAKER’S APPRENTICE from G.P. Putnam and Sons for Penguin Random House.

Sherri has worked in film, animation, comic books and construction. Her books have been listed as Amelia Bloomer, American Library Association Best Books for Young People, and Junior Library Guild Selections. FLYGIRL was the 2009 California Book Awards Gold Medalist.

She loves her family, travel, chocolate chip cookies, reading, and and a really good cup of tea.

Reviews

[Cori · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book is getting a one star rating from me for personal dislike. Not necessarily because it's a bad book or execution by the author.

I've learned that I don't particularly care for books marketed as fantasy, but are set in an actual real world setting unless DEEPLY immersive. For example, Percy Jackson, Narnia, and Peter Pan are all fantasy books that begin in the real world and then hurl the reader into a thoroughly immersive realm of story-telling apart from our own. Maybe that's why I really struggled to get into this book...or maybe it was the slow pace...or maybe it was my complete detachment from the characters...or maybe it was marketed as a retelling of The Nutcracker and it certainly didn't feel as if it pulled that off...or maybe because it was marketed as a good Christmas read and it didn't deliver on that either.

For whatever reason, I absolutely didn't get into this one even though the ingredients should have worked. They just didn't gel together for me. Obviously, per the overall rating, many people feel differently, so don't take it off your TBR read just yet.

The perspective of the mouse/rat kingdom was the most interesting aspect of the book to me, but still didn't deliver the magic of say, Redwall or Wind in the Willows. From the human perspective, the characters lagged and seemed to lean on the over-arching interest of the hidden rat world within our world, but the concept lost interest quickly, and there just wasn't enough action to carry the remainder of the story through. I wanted to like it, but it wasn't what I'm looking for at the moment.

I'd rate this book a PG-13 for dark, thematic themes and some violence.

[Addy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Promise me you won't quit."


This was a really fun retelling of the nutcracker. The characters were well-developed, and the romance was sweet and clean. It was a little odd reading about a *seven-headed* mouse king, but I adjusted pretty quickly. A few bad words are scattered throughout the book that I didn't enjoy. Overall, a sweet and enjoyable story.

[Jennifer Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well imagined fantasy bringing The Nutcracker a new life. Point of view alternates between Stephan Drosselmayerthe young journeyman clockmaker/ toymaker (who has a chance meeting with Clara before heading off on a rescue mission with his mysterious eye-patched uncle) and the erudite rat, Ernst, who has been recruited to educate the mouse queen's children. Will be fun to sell at Christmas.

[Beth Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling of the originally nutcracker story. There were several clever plot elements throughout, and the narrative switched between the humans and the mice for added interest. I especially enjoyed the authors note at the end, and hearing that the author saw Mikhail Baryshnikov’s performance of the Nutcracker as a child, and that sparked her love of the story.

[Billie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I keep wavering between three and four stars on this one and really, really wish GoodReads would add the option of half stars or number grades (this would be a 7 or 7.5 out of ten).

Anyway...

I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. It was an interesting take on The Nutcracker, but felt like it took too long to get to the story proper. I liked the characters, but felt that it was lacking in female characters, especially females with needs and wants separate from those of the male characters (except the Mouse Queen and she was the Crazy Villain, so her actions were mostly motivated by Crazy). And, yes, I realize that this is in keeping with the nature of the relatively passive roles women played in the original E.T.A Hoffman story and Tchaikovsky ballet, but I think Sherri L. Smith is a writer who could have moved beyond the source material to create more fleshed-out female characters with larger roles to play.

But, you know, it was a fun read and might get kids to explore Hoffman's original--darker--tale. I'm just picky.

[Delta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read the original Nutcracker story, so all my knowledge is based on the ballet. I really liked this book. When I got it I kept hoping that it would be a good book because the premise just looked so promising. I don't know if it was just me, but the first 2/3 of the book felt like a lot of story was borrowed from Disney's The Great Mouse Detective. It doesn't bother me if it was. In fact, I think the story works really well in the context of the the whole story. The Christmas scene with Marie doesn't happen until 300 pages in, so I think the kidnapped toymaker and the krakatook side story totally serve the plot.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

[Kimberly Karalius · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a slow start, so I wasn’t sure I liked it until I got about 100 pages in. But once there, I was caught up in the story and had to keep reading till I reached the end. It was soooo good! Smith did a great job with working The Hard Nut story into the main narrative!

[lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of, I LOVED this book.

It is based of the nutcracker and you can’t really tell at the start but then at the last 70 is part of the nutcracker story. If you haven’t read the nutcracker, I see why you would be confused by it.

So up until the last 70 pages or so it is a prequel to the nutcracker. Then it goes into the story and ends just after the battle on Christmas Day. There is not much world building and whimsical elements like the nutcracker. But it is so amazing, the characters are perfect. When Christian was “dead” I almost cried and I was saying yes when he came back. It is so perfect for the winter time. Highly recommend you check it out.

Stefan needs a hug through out this!!!

[Orangetails · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh, seriously, I love this. *major heart eyes* It's the story of The Nutcracker with all the trimmings; backstories, beautiful characters, world-building, and a great plot. It's politics and action and romance and it's PERFECT. It sees the story from the VERY beginning, unlike the ballet (it's been a long time since I've seen the ballet, please excuse me if I'm wrong). It gives us different perspectives into each character's life, and it fleshes everyone out BEAUTIFULLY. Yes, the High Clockworks issue was weird...apparently clocks are really, really important...? But beyond that, everything is gorgeous. I love the inside looks at absolutely everything - into Stefan, Uncle Drosselmeyer, and Clara. Well, not as much for Clara, but you get to see how she really fits into the story. She's not the main focus anymore, and it's so fascinating to see everything from another side. I can not say enough good things about this. A favorite for sure.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than this being a really long book for most middle-grade readers, I thought it was a fun spin-off of the well known Nutcracker ballet. The book was well written and had you feeling along with the characters.
I personally also enjoyed that this book was based in Germany and had several words in German that I knew.
** I would recommend this book to advanced middle grade readers due to the length.
*** Cautionary content: swearing in foreign language ("mein Gott" in German meaning "my God" used multiple times, death of a parent, talking animals, sword fight including death,

[ElijahDR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stefan Drosselmeyer is the apprentice to his toymaker father, he hates toymaking, and he wants to build animatronics. His life runs amuck when his mother dies and his father is kidnapped. He later finds that a Mouse Queen and her seven-headed son are trying to kill all Drosselmeyers. He goes on a quest with his cousin, Christian Drosselmeyer, and an Arab, Samir, to find a mystical nut to save a wooden princess. This quest transforms into an adventure to rescue his father from his small captors and defeats the mice to save mankind.

[Kathleen Kellett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me as a strong example of a recent middle-grade fantasy novel, and I am very glad that I followed through on reading it. (Though I came to this book with only the vaguest knowledge of The Nutcracker, so I can't really speak to it on that level.) The setting was wonderfully immersive, and Smith did a great job establishing guild culture and Enlightenment ideals for an audience who may be largely unfamiliar with those topics. The visual richness of each setting made me feel like I was watching a lavishly animated movie. The characters were also quite affecting, especially the mouse prince(s). Smith created a strong sense of tension in flipping between both sides of the conflict. Definitely recommended, especially for young readers who are looking for something to tug at their heartstrings.

[Tom Sebanc]

Super entertaining. And as a bonus, I read most of it while staying in a cabin with a mouse problem. Made the plot all the more personal.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved The Toymaker's Apprentice by Sherri L. Smith. It is a great example of how wonderfully satisfying children's fantasy can really be. It is also a retelling of The Nutcracker told in alternating points of view.

Readers first meet Stefan Drosselmeyer, the hero, shortly after his mother's funeral. He is an apprentice to his father, who is a toymaker, but he wants more from life. An unexpected visit from his uncle, Christian Drosselmeyer, gives him an opportunity for just that but it won't be without risks. To be in Christian's company is almost to invite disaster. For Christian has some mighty enemies, and, his enemies aren't all human either.

Ernst is our second narrator, and, he's a mouse. In his opening chapter, I believe, he is recruited to be the tutor for the heir to the mouse kingdom of Boldavia. The heir hasn't been born yet when Ernst arrives. And when the heir is born, Ernst is upset or troubled. The heir--due to the (evil) Queen's dabbling in dark magic HAS SEVEN HEADS. Why is the Queen evil? Well, she's out to rule the world. (Perhaps the Brain would understand and applaud her ambition?) And she's out to destroy humans. She's cursed the Princess of Boldavia. And she'll curse anyone who stands in her way...

Christian is out to find a cure for the princess, and he's enlisted Stefan's help. But before this story ends, Stefan will need a cure of his own....

I loved this one start to finish. I did. I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. I love the world-building. I love the atmospheric setting and tone. I love the writing, the dual narrators. I love the characters and their relationships. It was a perfect read for me.

[TurtleMuffinGR · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this book expecting a colorful fantasy, and the opening chapter REALLY got me excited. It's the best part of the book by far. And the bones of a great story are there, but it doesn't add anything new. The plot makes sense and it's not poorly written, it's just kind of boring. I wasn't attached to any of the characters, and the "action" scenes didn't carry any weight. A great example is the villian. 7-headed mouse? Great idea. Only having two of them show any personality and really only diving into one? Maybe more manageable, but it feels empty. And that's the whole book. A great shell with no personality or anything new. Now, I've never read the original story this book is based on, so it doesn't carry any emotional weight to me, but it just isn't for me.
4/10.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love the Nutcracker, you will love this retelling of the classic story. I believe most of us are familiar with the ballet. It has been a while since I have read the original story. In this one, Godpapa Drosselmeyer is the royal clockmaker to the imaginary kingdom of Bolvaria, and his pride leads to an imbalance between the mouse world and the human one. He enlists his cousin Stefan to help him. Stefan is the narrator for much of the story. Excellent.

[Ali Golightly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This book was a really fun read. Smith eases into the story then, BANG, gets into the action. Young Stefan has plenty of reasons to give up, but his love for his father and hope for the girl he likes keep him going in spite of all the mishaps along the way. The final section is a brilliant break neck battle and will leave you fulfilled. Middle grade fiction that is sophisticated and fun.

[Maci Dierking · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. This a very in depth Nutcracker retelling and a solid Middle Grade read. It had a nice amount of fantasy element and uniqueness combines with the original tale.

[Alice, as in Wonderland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the first book that I've really felt such an intense emotional rending between the three and four stars. So I'll give you reasons why I'd give it either.

I'll start with why I hesitate to give a definite I LOVE IT:
Not a lot of female characters in this one, which may sound like a petty grievance, but a) it isn't, and b) I've not read other Sherri L. Smith, but I was tempted to pick this up because of a lot of people telling me that she was a writer that didn't usually slack in that department, so I assume this is something out of the norm for her. The lack of female characters is heightened by where the main female human character is located in the book - intermittently and mainly at the beginning and end. The first to introduce as a love interest and to conclude with her confirmed as such. The other female human character is an object goal - and when that goal is completed and she is human again, she is immediately characterized as superficial and then her and her family more or less disappears from the book entirely.

Generally the way that the human royal family is used feels extremely superfluous to the plot - the way that they are presented in the beginning speaks nothing of how entirely absent they are for 90% of the book. In a book where life lessons seem to be pouring out of the sky, there doesn't feel like there was anything gained from the family Pirlipat other than annoyance of useless royalty. It causes the first "Book" of the ... book to feel like a 150 page prologue, nothing accomplished except the causality of the real meat of the book. I do feel conflicted on this because it's not as if the book could do without those first 150 pages, and I will defend that they're important and enjoyable, but I feel like the characters could have continued through the book and been humanized rather than being dumped unceremoniously and not really even mentioned again. A scene that stands out to me in particular is the one where Stefan does meet them and is forced through stupid, glamorous, and pointless hoops to save the princess. It's a one scene joke when it could have been stretched to more.

The grey morality of the book also isn't fully allowed to be grey. We are told that there is a war, we are told that difficult things happen in them, but the only real tragedy on the side of the humans is the death of Stefan's mother - a causality not done by the mice. The tragedy hangs over the book, and implied to affect Zacharias heavily - this was done well! And perhaps this was to emphasize the curb-stomp battle that a war of humans vs. mice would entail, but it also makes it seem as if the mice were never really a threat in the first place. I feel like the book was trying to make it feel like the mice are likely not to win, but would incur difficult casualties. So like for a hundred mice felled, a human would fall. With the streets teeming with mice, you'd expect some threat. But the book just doesn't follow through. Even in the end when the mice are flooded away, ending an entire kingdom - no question of if it was justifiable. A brief hesitation, maybe, but that's it. In a book that reveals each individual mice to be a person, it does certainly kill masses of them without a lot of deep thought. I just don't feel like there was a mutual understanding between the humans and mice. The mice pay deeply and I suppose learn their place in the world. Humans pay nothing and learn not really anything.

Why I LOVE IT AND WOULD READ AGAIN:
Its take on the story is definitely interesting and fascinating. There is an undeniable quirkiness to the book that I never felt overwhelming to the more serious aspects of the plot. The intricacy and variety of Rodentia is definitely cool, and you definitely get a feel for the shortness of their lives, where epic legends to them are a few months ago for humans. Plus, I think it was unique to have the sapience of mice being a well known thing - typically books with mice societies involve them being secreted away, living under heels and returning to unknown metropolises hidden to humans. So one where they are out in the open got my ears perked throughout the book.

I do like the grey morality that the book DID accomplish, especially in Arthur, who is really characterized beautifully - to me probably the most strongly. He was such a strong character to me that was I desperately trying to figure out a way for his story to end well; magic to split him from his brothers? battlefield surgery of the rest of his heads? Arthur's development as the level-headed (pun unintended) and emotionally lonely of the bunch was definitely felt deeply to me. His conflicts about his feelings to his mother, his destiny, to humans are complicated and not easily solved, and you can see how it culminates in his character towards the end of the book, as sad as it is. And that development is slow and measured enough to believe, and the ownership of his boundary crossed didn't make me feel like he was a character thrown away. I didn't feel like Hannibal forced him into a revenge frenzy or anything. By the end of the book I did feel that Arthur was his own mouse, and his ambition was a part of his downfall.

Generally, the characters, when rounded, were written very well. Ernst's horror and revulsion upon seeing the new Mouse King(s) - I felt it too, as was the growing nervousness of coming wars doomed to fail. Plus, Ernst, as his role in the story, was unique. I expected some sort of ambitious or overtly goodness to be about him, instead his need for survival made him a likeable character to me in that dodge of trope. And I did like Christian a lot - and the difference in appearance and emotion you feel for him depending on who you're with. Perhaps something to be more felt if Stefan could go on to acknowledge that Christian's attempts to eradicate the mice were horrible, but! As it stands the switching of perspectives was handled well and did a lot to push the "no right answer" tone I believe the author wanted.

And even if I did feel like no humans died other than Stefan's mother, the blanket of atmosphere and feeling she leaves behind in her wake is heavy and unavoidable. Partially in Stefan, mostly in Zacharias in his prison cell, feeling like his family is dropping like flies.

And I just liked the book. Overall. I liked the tone, I liked the characters, I liked the concept and story. With my grievances set aside, there is enough left to like about the book for me to enjoy it and recommend it to other people.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stefan is the toy maker's (his father's) apprentice and his mother has died. His dad's cousin, Christian, then arrives and recruits Stefan to help him find a nut that will heal a young princess of a curse the rat queen put on her. Stefan meets Clara in his quest for the nut and she directs him to man that has a gives him what he believes is the nut. Stefan's father is kidnapped by the mice because of Christian. Stefan, Samir (Christian's jailor) and Christian all set off to find Stefan's father but Christian dies while on the way by falling off a boat in the rapids. Stefan and Samir set out to find the squirrels because they once opened the healing nut. Stefan meets Pater (father of all squirrels, like a king) and determines that if a squirrel jaw can open the nut then Stefan must make his jaw like a squirrel's.

A rat, Ernst, with many talents and languages, that is recruited by the queen to teach her children. The queen gives birth to a seven headed mouse and Ernst knows that the queen used black magic to create her son. Stefan's father is a prisoner of the mice and is building something for them. Arthur (the middle head is the seven) feels pity for the dad and begins to befriend him (outwardly it is just to keep the dad alive and completing the soldier). The soldier is complete and Stefan's dad believes he will be killed but Christian (who isn't actually dead) rescues him.

Stefan completes his squirrel jaw and saves the princess but immediately afterward the mouse queen bites him. He turns to wood, falls and crushes the queen. The queen's seven headed son swears revenge and begin the quest to kill Stefan, who is being saved by Christian, his father and Samir. The men split up but the mice have followed them. Christian takes Stefan to his goddaughter, Marie (she told Stefan her name was Clara to avoid scandal). Stefan fights the mouse king and wins. Christian's then drowns the remaining mice.

Genre: fantasy
Topics: death, family, war, magic
Likes: lots of action, animal characteristics for the different species
Dislikes: confusing at times, too many details at times, drawn on occasionally
Thoughts: not my favorite type of book but was done well

[Beautiful Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stefan Drosselmeyer is a reluctant apprentice to his toymaker father until the day his world is turned upside down. His father is kidnapped and Stefan is enlisted by his mysterious cousin, Christian Drosselmeyer, to find a mythical nut that will save a princess who has been turned into a wooden doll. Embarking on a wild adventure across the continent, Stefan must save Boldavia's princess and his own father from the fanatical Mouse Queen and her seven-headed Mouse Prince, both of whom have sworn to destroy the Drosselmeyer family.

Genre: Adventure
Gender Neutral
4/5 stars
Ages: 10-13

"This well-written adventure inspired by Hoffman's The Nutcracker and the Mouse Prince is fast-paced, detail-packed, and action-oriented. However, sections in the book are a bit slow. But overall, it's a fun read with wit and foreboding leading to a climax that captures the attention of readers."

[Kinsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too long and slow. Personally I found it too jarring to read about humans and anthropomorphic rats at war with one another. The human characters were less interesting than the rats, which were too like humans for me to ever feel comfortable reading about them either.

I choose to read this book because I grew up watching the Nutcracker every year at Christmas and wanted a book to read so I could dwell in holiday spirit. This was not that kind of book. Want a journey adventure story about a mystery, rat kingdoms, and clockwork? Then read this book. It is probably much better if you go into it with much different expectations.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the book.
I felt it could have condensed the beginning portion of the book a bit and thereby allowed for more exploration of Marie’s character. Some of the pace plodded along here and there.
But I loved how wonderfully strange it was, and some points were truly magical.
It is not, I didn’t feel, needlessly dark, but the audience is hard to determine here; I did not especially see it as middle grade level book reading.
I would have liked some more romance and closure on Stefan and Marie at the end. Where was the nod to the Land of Sweets? I would have liked to have seen the author tackle that.
But all in all- great read!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stefan longs for something more than his role as his father's apprentice. His father, Zacharias, is a traditionalist. Carved wooden toys - not clockwork or automatons - are what Zacharias Drosselmeyer encourages. But, reeling from the death of his mother, and the sudden appearance of his enigmatic cousin, Christian, Stefan is hit by revelation after revelation. Christian was banished from his royal appointment! Christian has been charged with curing a cursed princess! The only cure is a possibly-mythical, impossible to crack nut! Christian is being pursued by spies! The spies are mice! And they can talk! The mice kidnap Stefan's father!

Christian, Stefan, and Christian's jailer and friend, the astronomer Samir, set off for far-off Boldavia, to save a princess, rescue Zacharias, and defeat a revolution of mice.

Want to know more? Check out the full review on my blog:
https://www.iveyink.com/blog/2021/12/...

[Cheri Blomquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem, and to think I only discovered it by accident! As someone whose childhood Christmases were dominated by Nutcracker performances, I absolutely loved Smith's story behind the ballet. Yes, I know she really based it on Hoffman's original tale and the retelling that followed that by another author, but for me it was like learning what REALLY happened before the ballet begins, as well as a possible "real" story underlying the actual ballet. Although Marie and the Nutcracker don't end up in the Land of Sweets, something I was hoping Smith would include, that's okay. This novel is beautiful, rich, and complex enough to hold the interest of readers of all ages. Bravo!

[Jovelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a satisfying Christmas reread, a really neat retelling of the original Nutcracker. I thought it was clever that the author wove in a little nod to later retellings of the story having a 'Clara' instead of 'Marie'.
There were two uses of 'what the d****' and I felt like some of the 'High Clockworks' stuff was kind of some weird spiritualism.
There are several Scripture quotations, and the main character identifies as Christian, but it's not really a major part of the story, and another major characters is a Muslim astrologer.
I think this is a worthwhile fantasy-Nutcracker read, and I would definitely recommend it.

[J. Lynn Else · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Very enjoyable middle-grade Nutcracker re-envisioning. The characters are enduring and the world building is so enchanting. I loved visiting the squirrels! The clockwork mechanics are enjoyable to discover as well. This was a hard-to-put-down and well-told adventure. I found it randomly on a local bookstore shelf and loved the cover (and internal) art so much I brought it home with me. Good decision, I must say! ;) Recommended.

[Louis Wong · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read and the plot of the story was very intriguing too. This story was quite weird yet fun, each character was interesting and I enjoy each of them and would like to know even more about them in more books. The plot revolves around the main character named Stefan Drosselmeyer who is the son and apprentice of a toymaker and he was enlisted by Christian Drosselmeyer, his cousin to go and find a nut that can save a princess that was turned into a wooden doll.

[Diana Ault · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting, engrossing, and enjoyable read. Very imaginative, and cleverly woven with the original E. T. A. Hoffman tale. The various perspectives are insightful. The whole story is very cinematic and I often imagined what it would be like as a film, as I read it. Read it as a library book, but was so impressed with it that I bought a hardback.

[Nanci · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars for this. I really enjoyed this story. I have really liked most of the books by this author. I think she's is underrated. I haven't read the original story this is based on but I loved this take on the story. A very creative fantasy book based on the beloved Nutcracker tale. I listened to this on audio and the reader is exceptional!