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The Ice Children

Book Synopsis

M. G. Leonard, the award-winning bestselling author of the Adventures on Trains series and Twitch, dazzles in this future classic with a powerful message at its core. Gorgeously illustrated in black-and-white throughout by Penny Neville-Lee this hardback is a perfect gift for boys and girls of 8-12.

At the stroke of midnight on the dawn of December, five-year-old Finn Albedo is found frozen in the city park standing on a pedestal of ice. His heart is beating, he is smiling serenely, but no one can wake him.

Finn’s big sister, Bianca, suspects that the beautiful sparkling book Finn got from the library has something to do with it, but the book has vanished. Does the tall mysterious stranger who first discovered Finn know more than they will admit?

Each day, more children are found frozen and Bianca realizes she’s running out of time. Her quest to discover the truth and rescue her little brother hurls her into a fantastical winter wonderland, full of beauty and danger, where all is not as it seems.

Can Bianca save her brother and the other Ice Children before they are forever lost?

Our Review Panel says...

Perfect for reading in the darker, winter months, The Ice Children is a story guaranteed to chill and thrill.

Like a modern day fairy tale, with echoes of Hans Christian Anderson, there are vivid descriptions of snow, ice and cold as our heroine bravely races against time to save her brother. Found, early one December morning in the rose garden of the local park, Finn is frozen solid and statue-like on a plinth with a mysterious rhyme carved into its base. Rushing to be by his side, his sister Bianca and their parents are at a loss to understand what has happened and, most importantly, how to rescue Finn from his icy imprisonment.

As the grown-ups around her deliberate and procrastinate, Bianca decides to take action and thus begins a fast-paced, engrossing tale of her attempts to end the endless winter that appears to have her home town within its icy grip. As more children are found frozen, Bianca realises that there is something that links them: a mysterious, silver, shiny book. Bianca has to race against time and has to trust her instincts when all around her are dismissing her theories.

This is a great book for sending out a ‘believe in yourself’ message. Bianca is feisty and determined and has the courage to do what she knows to be right- a really empowering message to young readers. M.G. Leonard employs magical storytelling to weave an important message into this tale. When Bianca gets close to solving the mystery, she is able to highlight the plight of the planet and to convey that the children of today have the power to make a difference to the environment. Bianca realises that Winter is in peril because of global warming and know that she, and her generation, must act swiftly: ‘We may be young, but there are millions of us on this planet. We are the future, and we can make a difference.’ And so, Bianca saves the threatened Ice Queen and M.G. Leonard inspires her readers to become custodians of the Earth.

This is a story that will touch the heart; relationships are gloriously portrayed, settings are magically described and the action is fast and furious. A compelling read for children and adults alike.