Twelve Kinds of Ice
by Ellen Bryan Obed
ill by Barbara McClintock
Houghton Mifflin, 2012
Conventional wisdom is that publishers don’t publish quiet stories. And 99% of the time, that is true. And I am usually not a huge fan of quiet stories anyway, at least ones that have no linear structure, no tension, no payoff.
But this charming…I’m not even sure what to call it…won me over. It’s 3400 words, and it’s really more memoir than story. It’s 20 vignettes about the author’s family traditions around ice and ice skating. And it’s enchanting.
I’m not sure I ever would have picked this up, but I’m glad Houghton Mifflin sent me a copy. I avoided it for a few weeks, letting it sit on the piano like a letter nobody wanted to answer. But finally, I picked it up one evening and read it straight through. And I was delighted.
When the figure skating hour was over, the boys leapt onto the ice like steers out of pens at a rodeo. They made sudden stops and starts; they smacked pucks against the boards; they circled forward and backwards. Soon they were lost in a tangle of sticks and arms and legs and voices.
Ellen’s voice and details are lovely, and her tales made me long for the kind of idealized childhood she presents here.
This book may be pretty quiet for kids accustomed to plot-packed novels. But I think it could be very cool to use this book in the classroom as a mentor text when you’re writing personal narratives or memoirs, or if you want to write about family traditions.
See some art and an interview with the artist at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.
Check out the book and all the great reviews and honors it’s received!
(Review copy provided by the publisher.)
Love the idea of using this book as a mentor text for people working on memoirs. It certainly has that feel–of a snippet of time, caught in ice. As an adult, I enjoyed it and am wondering how children would react to it. When the writing is this vivid and the illustrations this sweet, does the overall effect drown out the “quiet”?
Yeah, I honestly can’t see many kids picking this up and reading it on their own. BUT I think kids could really enjoy it in certain settings, with some guidance.
PS Thanks for stopping by–good to hear from you:>)
Love the idea of using this book as a mentor text for people working on memoirs. It certainly has that feel–of a snippet of time, caught in ice. As an adult, I enjoyed it and am wondering how children would react to it. When the writing is this vivid and the illustrations this sweet, does the overall effect drown out the “quiet”?
Yeah, I honestly can’t see many kids picking this up and reading it on their own. BUT I think kids could really enjoy it in certain settings, with some guidance.
PS Thanks for stopping by–good to hear from you:>)
I enjoyed your review and the Seven Imp glimpse. I thought I would add it to my Amazon cart.
WHOA!
5 new from $75.78 6 used from $113.41 1 collectible from $39.50 and $135 at Barnes & Noble. Is this intended only for school/library purchase?
Holy Toledo. OK, best guess is that the good publicity means it has temporary sold out. HMH is probably in the midst of reprinting it as we speak, and I bet in a week or two it will be available at its normal price.
Whew! 🙂 Thanks Laura.
I enjoyed your review and the Seven Imp glimpse. I thought I would add it to my Amazon cart.
WHOA!
5 new from $75.78 6 used from $113.41 1 collectible from $39.50 and $135 at Barnes & Noble. Is this intended only for school/library purchase?
Holy Toledo. OK, best guess is that the good publicity means it has temporary sold out. HMH is probably in the midst of reprinting it as we speak, and I bet in a week or two it will be available at its normal price.
Whew! 🙂 Thanks Laura.
Thank you for the great interview and quaint photos. It was nice to progress from sepia drawings to color lithographs.
Jeanne Poland
Hi Jeanne–I think you meant to put this comment at the 7 Impossible Things blog. But I’m glad you enjoyed their interview and art:>)
Thank you for the great interview and quaint photos. It was nice to progress from sepia drawings to color lithographs.
Jeanne Poland
Hi Jeanne–I think you meant to put this comment at the 7 Impossible Things blog. But I’m glad you enjoyed their interview and art:>)
Thanks for the review of Twelve Kinds of Ice. Barbara McClintock is always A-Ma-Zing! If I’d seen it, I probably would’ve picked this up just because of her. Honestly sounds like the kind of book we read aloud in the evenings with our 8, 13, and 17 yr olds. We’ll let you know their reactiions. Thanks again.
Ah, that’s lovely! That’s why, even though I’m not a huge reader of quietish books, it makes me happy to see them published. I really just want there to be books available for every kind of reader!
Thanks for the review of Twelve Kinds of Ice. Barbara McClintock is always A-Ma-Zing! If I’d seen it, I probably would’ve picked this up just because of her. Honestly sounds like the kind of book we read aloud in the evenings with our 8, 13, and 17 yr olds. We’ll let you know their reactiions. Thanks again.
Ah, that’s lovely! That’s why, even though I’m not a huge reader of quietish books, it makes me happy to see them published. I really just want there to be books available for every kind of reader!
Sounds like a chocolate cake for the ears. Thanks, Laura!
Sounds messy:>)
Sounds like a chocolate cake for the ears. Thanks, Laura!
Sounds messy:>)
I’m looking forward to reading this, Laura. Some of it reminds me of a series of memoir picture books by a man named William Kuralek. He wrote an ice skating book titled Breaking Free & several others about the Canadian prairie-very nice books. Thanks for the shout for this ‘quiet’ book!
I’m looking forward to reading this, Laura. Some of it reminds me of a series of memoir picture books by a man named William Kuralek. He wrote an ice skating book titled Breaking Free & several others about the Canadian prairie-very nice books. Thanks for the shout for this ‘quiet’ book!