Every year the children’s librarians of the New York Public Library system come together and create a list of 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing. The list, now entering its 101st year, originally had a dual purpose. On the one hand it was meant to highlight the best children’s books at a time when finding books written specifically for kids was difficult in and of itself (the “100” number idea came later). On the other hand, when printed out the list was intended to serve as a Christmas shopping More...

This was rare for me. I was so sucked into the nostalgia of this book, that I felt like I had to read some of the reviews on goodreads before writing my own. Usually I don't check in like that before writing, because I like to write based on my aesthetic response. The best thing I found by reading the reviews was the category term 'memoir'. But Lu Benke's use of the term 'mood book' also seems applicable--I was focused clearly on one topic, and the characters, events, and details around this top More...

I love summer, but winter light and winter quiet feed my soul in a different way. If you’re that kind of person, too, you won’t want to miss this small, lovely book called TWELVE KINDS OF ICE, written by Ellen Bryan Obed and illustrated by Barbara McClintock.

Don’t expect a novel; this is more the kind of story your grandmother told you over hot chocolate — a remembrance of wintry childhood memories that celebrate all that’s good and pure and wildly fun when it comes to being a kid. It starts wit More...

I will admit that sometimes I am baffled by the universal acclaim given to some books. This is one of those books. I liked it. It is a very nice little book. It has a wonderful, nostalgic feel, and the pen-and-ink drawings really are a perfect companion. It would be great for sharing on cold winter nights in front of the fireplace. It feels Christmasy even though Christmas isn't mentioned. It's really, really nice.

But Newbery-worthy? Seriously? (Of course, this is the same committee that complet More...

The world this book describes is so alien to me that it might as well be set in Kathmandu. As a life-long Texan I admit that I am not very well acquainted with ice and snow. And the little I do know about it has done little to entice me. I honestly can't imagine living with it day in and day out for months on end. And I certainly can't imagine actually enjoying it....actually looking forward to it! Perish the thought! But, this book goes a little way in helping me understand. I know something ab More...

Beautifully expressive writing in its simplest form. When a book has this characteristic, I couldn't care less about its topic. Twelve Kinds of Ice transports you to a Maine farm where winter is the star of the seasons. I was surprised tight composure of this slight memoir. Guided into the approaching winter by the characteristics of different ice events, I expected the book to be a sweet reflection through and through. Not so. Well, yes so but it's more than that. Winter is fun and lively once More...

Twelve Kinds of Ice is a series of beautiful vignettes describing ice and all of its wonder. It begis with the simplest ice, The First Ice. As the reader moves through each vignette, the author brings to life an amazing winter world where ice skating tops every favorites list.

There is a lot to like about this book.

First of all, the beautiful language. Each portion of the book, while simple, is poetic and lovely - entrancing almost.

Second, the setting. I felt that I was removed from the cold, br More...

My husband just accepted a job in a place where the average winter temperature hovers under 20 degrees and is surrounded by snow-capped Rocky Mountains. Brrr. I have not been excited about the prospect of FREEEEEZING so ferociously. I'm just a warm-blooded, vegas-weather kind of girl.

But sitting with little L this morning and snuggling under blankies while reading 'Twelve Kinds of Ice', I would be lying to say that I wasn't a little excited about it. Ellen Obed wrote this book as a kind of ode t More...

Several winters ago, when my family and I still lived in Boston, our neighbor two doors down made a backyard ice rink. As a young family with a two year-old and a three year-old, we bought used skates, and skated away the short afternoons there. It was like heaven. Some days the rink was our alone. Other days, lots of neighborhood families would be there. Our neighbors also raised chickens and rabbits, which would come to inspect us. The scene could be surreal if you caught us all at the right t More...

Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed, illustrated by Barbara McClintock is a nostalgic story of the wonder of winter for children and the many varieties of ice to be encountered and enjoyed.

McClintock's illustrations were created with pen and ink on Arches Cold Press watercolor paper. Fine details and cross-hatching build to a final two page illustration of dream ice. Only the cover features color. My favorite images are cover, second ice, stream ice, black ice, broom partner, late night ska More...

I’ve ice skated a lot in my life. Growing up in Northern Michigan, it’s bound to happen. I used to live around the corner from an ice rink and can remember completing lap after lap during open skate times. But the ice wasn’t just at the rink – when November hit, ice could pop up anywhere. It loomed large in my world for long stretches of the year. Twelve Kinds of Ice captures this winter world with all the anticipation and excitement that comes with it. It’s a near-perfect book, but one that wil More...

This is one of those books that gets rave reviews and yet I resist ordering for my library until I finally cave in after reading "just one more" glowing review. I wasn't totally sold on the book from reading the description of it. Really? What's so interesting about 12 kinds of ice? Will there really be much interest in this book? Well, I can't really answer that last question, but this really was a lovely little book about all of the different kinds of ice that can be experienced in the fall, w More...

Ellen Obed's lovely new book is a series of vignettes in ode to her family's winter traditions in rural Maine. The first ice appears in pail left in a barn. It then spreads to the fields and streams, enticing the children to put on their skates. The real pleasure comes with the garden ice. In the coldest of winter, the narrator's family allows their summer garden to freeze over and become Bryan Gardens, an outdoor skating rink for the family and their friends. Each night their father sprays down More...

Definitely a sweet, special book. I never thought about how many kinds of ice there were. At some points, I had to laugh because I am not sure I was ever enamored with winter weather as Obed. I remember that I couldn't wait to get back into the house and out of the thousands of layers of clothes. Also, my parents would have probably thought I lost my mind if I asked to turn the backyard into an ice skating rink. We had to wait for the pond across the street to freeze and hope we had enough reall More...

Growing up in a state (Oregon)that only has about 4 of the twelve kinds of ice written about in this short book, I am probably not the perfect reader for this work. I guess I never knew what I was missing! The author beautifully describes not only her obvious love for northern winters and ice skating specifically, but also shows her close-knit family and their yearly traditions of building and hosting their very own skating rink.
This is a quick read and a fun one for the wintertime. I am not s More...

3.5 stars? I mean, I loved it - each chapter is a different kind of ice, taking you from fall to spring. It's a gorgeous look at winter and skating and dreaming. It's a very me book. But a top 100 book of the year, award possibility? Not really. I'm not even 100% sure this is a kids book, despite it being about kids. It's a memoir and I think will appeal mostly to adults. Maybe as a family holiday read aloud it would work very nicely, but I don't see many kids picking it up on their own. For tho More...

The book is supposed to be a quiet celebration of simple family traditions, and of course, of ice. I get that. However, knowing how rhapsodically the book has been received, I came away wanting more from it, especially more sense of individual character among the family and a little less leaning on the collective 'we'. Also, and this is a personal reaction, I was kind of ticked off that the girls were pigeon-holed into figure skating, and the boys played hockey. I spent some time ice-skating in More...

Well, I can't possibly review this as well as Betsy Bird at School Library Journal. (http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production... is a beautiful little book about winter with wonderful illustrations by Barbara McClintock that remind me of Joe and Beth Krush, my all time favorites. It talks about the stages that winter takes, in the form of the ice that appears and how the children wait eagerly for skating. Having grown up in the 70s when there were some long, cold winters and lots of ice skating, I More...

Little Kid Reaction: Review pending.

Big Kid Reaction: This is a perfect cuddle-up read to share over a cup of cocoa. It is a special little book with vivid imagery and a very personal feel. I felt like the author had invited me to her winters in Maine. Because of the complexity of the stories but simplicity of the text, this is a great choice for high interest / low readability audiences, too.

Pros: Twelve short stories combine for one heart-warming book meant to be shared as a family.

To read our More...

Twelve Kinds of Ice is both simple and beautiful at the same time. This is a small book that focuses on the different types of ice that come with the colder temperatures through the duration of the winter. It made me happy because of the gorgeous language and the way it harkens back to a simpler time where the formation of ice brings so many joys and activities. These aren't children who come home, only to then be engaged in many extracurricular activities or children who spend hours in front of More...

I don't know what I might have rated this book if I hadn't heard several people say it was one of the best books of the year, a strong Newbery contender, etc; but now I can't separate it from that. A perfectly nice book, but I don't see anything very special about it, and in one spot (the thaw) the page breaks were very awkward. I rolled my eyes at the strict gender lines drawn between figure skaters and hockey players, as I imagine many kids would.

The book has a classic, old-fashioned feel that More...

Twelve Kinds of Ice is about the different types of ice a family experiences during winter. There is thin ice, field ice, stream ice, and various other types of ice described throughout the book. It is also a story of the warmth of being with friends and family. Children ages six to nine years old would enjoy this book most. This book is realistic fiction. I loved ice skating as a child. I would spend hours shoveling off a pond in the woods so I could skate. My fondess memories of winter when I More...

Looks like this one may transport me back to my youth in western New York, skating on thin ice in the yard, seasonably tempered, my metal blades arrested by blades of grass coming through the uneven sheen and snow. By comparison, there was dependable ice in the arena. However, even that varied widely arena to arena, from home ice to the competition. Even at home, we skaters battled it out between "us" and "them", the barbaric hockey players's needs vs. the creative and athletic figure skaters. T More...

This is what real writing is. I loved this little treasure of a book. Full of descriptions so vivid that I'm pretty sure I grew up with this family. Writing about the first thick ice of the winter, "We looked beneath the ice and saw what we could not see in summer-boulders and cracks between boulders, black shadows and sunken tree branches. And we saw what was not there-the sullen backs and open jaws of hibernating monsters rising up from the lake bottom" Oy.
I'm not sure how popular this will be More...

This one is being kicked around as a potential Newbery candidate. It is wonderful! This is an ode to winter, and the joys of skating on the ice. The tone is just right to share with young readers, soft and hopeful, as the crisp fall turns to the first skim of ice in the bucket and on the meadow.
Simple line drawings enhance this well crafted story. Especially good for any young skaters.
It brought back memories of skating on a local pond and also of a childhood neighbor who for several years flo More...

It's a nice book but it's clearly written for adults as it resembles more a nostalgic memoir than a children's book. It just couldn't get published as an adult book I guess. Honestly not sure what kids in my library will pick this book up on their own, without a parent telling them to. Ice is definitely a big thing in Minnesota in winter but this vignette style writing is not going to keep most children engaged. This is just an odd little story. I did like the illustrations though I did wonder w More...

This book shows the beauty of winter and one family's joyful experiences with the ice it brings to their farm in Maine year after year. The illustrations, beautifully done by Barbara McClintock, compliment the images that the words describe to the reader. The book is a tribute to imagination, friendship and family wrapped up in this tiny gift of a book. I recommend it to readers in second through fifth grades, especially those that enjoy skating on the ice.
Reviewed by Carol Kaner, Youth Services More...

I don't have children of my own, but I know that often nostalgia drives parents to pick out certain books for their kids, usually titles that they enjoyed as a child. This makes sense, after all, most adults don't follow children's lit and aren't aware of what's good or even popular. But if you're looking for a different kind of nostalgia, the kind that evokes a feeling of timelessness, a classic simplicity, a sense of innocence, then check out Twelve Kinds of Ice, a charming little book by Elle More...

Check this review out and others on my blog: Get Real.

How lovely! Ellen Obed's set of vignettes about her family's winter experiences in rural Maine strikes a sense of nostalgia perhaps not quite owned by all readers. I didn't have this childhood, not exactly. I didn't grow up on a farm, and I couldn't skate. I also am quite a bit younger than the author. But, there is a timeless quality about enjoying the seasons as a family. You learn so much about Obed's life and the joy of childhood from the More...

Oh my. There are few books that leave me with tears standing in my eyes at the end, especially books of a spare 64 pages. This one did.

I suppose I could leave my review at that, but here are some details for those who need more. This tightly written and beautifully illustrated small book looks at the twelve kinds of ice that happen in the course of a winter. It all starts with the first ice which is the thin ice on top of a bucket in the barn that breaks when you touch it. From there excitement More...