The Ice Whisperers is set in beautiful, mysterious, icy Siberia. When Bela’s mother dies, she is summoned to deepest Siberia to stay with an uncle she’s never met. Exploring his strange scientific workshop, she uncovers a secret she was never meant to find – a doorway that opens to an icy land, frozen in time and full of legends come to life. But this frozen land is in danger, and it’s up to Bela to find a way to save it. To succeed, she must join forces with the impossible: a long-lost sister she never knew she had, born 40,000 years before . .

The book is perfect for children who love fantasy novels; Ren-ya’s land is filled with ancient creatures and references to myths from long ago. The theme of friendship and the intense bond that sisters have draws comparisons with Frozen too.

This would be a fantastic novel to share with a lower key stage two class and would fit perfectly with topics that deal with frozen landscapes as well as prehistory. There are themes of ecology to draw upon and it would be a great novel to use in order to commence a geographical study of this landscape that contrasts so starkly with our own.

Reviewer: Claire Coates