A Good Read: Twelve Kinds of Ice

Early this cold and frosty morning, by the side of the road, I noticed "stream ice", the fourth kind of ice written about in Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed. This book tells the story of a country family who watches and waits for perfect winter ice so they can skate. They know the stages of ice formation and can tell what kind of ice they're seeing: first ice, field ice, garden ice, black ice - and seven more! What they do with "perfect ice" is amazing and sounds like so much fun!

This sixty-four page book is tiny and thin and fits nicely in the hands. The illustrations are pen and ink with lots of detail. And the writing is beautiful to read.

The third ice was the ice that would not break....My sister and I heard it coming the night before. We lay in our beds, listening to the cold cracking of the maple limbs in the yard. We had seen it coming in the close, round moon. We felt it coming through the windows onto our quilts. We had gone to sleep talking about the ice that would not break, because it was the ice that would bring us what we were waiting for...

If you're a hockey or figure skater, this book is a must for you. If you just like to be outdoors in winter, you'll love this quick read. And if you're the sort who stays inside in winter, this is a toasty book to curl up with on a cold winter's evening. It's available in the Juvenile section in the Children's Room, up by the videos.