The Big Freeze by Pippa Curnick

 

Llamas are not fans of Summer it is way too hot especially since they are already wearing warm coats but luckily after Summer comes Winter. Winter is the perfect season for llamas. Winter also means the Winter Woolly Party where everyone wears their fabulous, patterned sweaters. Granny Brock's shop is the very best place to buy a wonderful new sweater. This year this is especially urgent once Sharma and Bahama have discovered the moths have chomped right through their old woollies. The problem is the weather has now turned nasty and the shop is far away. The roads are covered in ice and snow and inevitably there is a terrible crash. 

Sharma and Bahama to the rescue. They just need to convince all the other animals that, with teamwork, they can build a new vehicle using pieces of the broken cars, ice cream truck and bicycles. 

"One little push and the snowmobile swept down the hill towards Granny Brock's shop." 

But oh no when they arrive, they see there is a huge line of others also waiting for new sweaters and by the time the friends reach the front of the queue Granny Brock has run out of stock. Time for another round of teamwork!

This is an inexpensive paperback book which you could add to your library. Fans of all those llama and alpaca books by Matt Cosgrove are sure to enjoy this book too. 

The Big Freeze is the perfect companion book to read before or after Frank's Red Hat.

Pippa Curnick is the author of this series:

And the illustrator of this series:

Missuk's Snow Geese by Anne Renaud illustrated by Geneviève Côté

Litte Missuk lives in the far north of Canada. Her father carves soap stone pieces into animals and Missuk longs to learn how to do this but for now she will have to wait because her father needs to set off hunting for caribou. Missuk fills in her day sewing new mittens with her mother and then trying a little carving project but she is so restless. Outside the air is warm but the land is covered in snow. The sky is vast and lying on her back in the snow she sees a flock of migrating snow geese. Missuk makes up a game of lying in the snow and leaving bird-shaped imprints along the trail taken by her father that morning.

Late in the day and into the evening her father does not return. Missuk goes to bed and while she does sleep her dreams become nightmares as her imagination wonders if her father has had an accident or if the husky dogs are trapped in broken ice. Eventually her father does return. He is cold and very tired but once he recovers he explains how he did become lost in a snow storm but close to home he found something special.

"I would have been lost had I not come upon a trail of goose shapes stamped into the snow. Those birds led me across the tundra and up to a hilltop from where I saw our igloo. This is how I found my way home."

Missuk's Snow Goose was published in 2008 so sadly it is out of print but I was pleased to see it was featured in our NSW School magazine in 2019. I picked up this book because I like the illustrations by Geneviève Côté. Here is an interview with Seven impossible Things.

Côté’s watercolor-wash and charcoal pictures warmly illuminate the family’s emotional connection against a harshly beautiful landscape that teems with wildlife. Kirkus

I previously talked about Ella May and the Wishing Stone by Cary Fagan illustrated by Genevieve Cote.

This week IBBY Canada released a wonderful list of Indigenous Picture Books. We are so lucky here in Australia that we speak English and so we can enjoy books from Canada.

Take a look at the three lists - 2018, 2021 and 2023. If you are in Australia you might like to hunt out books illustrated by Julie Flett, Qin Leng, and Soyeon Kim.

When I worked in Canada in 1994 one of my projects was to collect one picture book from each province. I almost completed this task. Here are some of the books I bought home. I have given a few away over the years so there are a few titles I have forgotten (sadly):

If You're Not from the Prairie by David Bouchard illustrated by Henry Ripplinger

Mary of Mile 18 by Ann Blades

Belle's Journey by Marilyn Reynolds illustrated by Stephen McCallum

Last Leaf First Snowflake to fall by Leo Yerza

Oh, Canada by Ted Harrison

Baseball bats for Christmas by Michael Kusugak illustrated by Vladyana Krykorka

A horse called Farmer by Peter Cumming illustrated by P. John Burden

The Mummers Song by Bud Davidge illustrated by Ian Wallace

A Prairie Alphabet by Jo Bannatyne-Cugnet illustrated by Yvette Moore Montréal

Raven Child and the Snow Witch by Linda Sunderland illustrated by Daniel Eguéus

You might like to begin with this spellbinding animation of Raven Child and the Snow Witch. 

Anya's mother sets off at the start of Spring, with a flock of ravens, to collect gentian flowers. I had never heard of these but after a little research I have discovered these pretty blue flowers represent justice and victory - and these are themes in this story. 

Image Source: BBC Plant Finder

While waiting for her mother to return Anya falls asleep and she has a dream that her mother has been taken prisoner by the Snow Witch. Anya tells her father they need to set off straight away to rescue her but a Raven arrives with a broken wing. The Raven explains that he saw Anya's mother fall into a glacier - it seemed to swallow her and all of the Ravens. 

The next day Anya, her father and the wounded Raven set off to the ice covered mountains. Close to the glacier they find a wounded Arctic Fox so now they are a group of four but it is Anya who marches bravey alone to confront the Snow Witch. This evil woman is filled with rage and power but Anya has a secret weapon - she has her own deep love for her mother and this is more powerful than the bitterness of the evil witch. The ice begins to melt and the Ravens lift the Snow Witch into the sky.

"The Snow Witch shrieked as her world began to melt and she felt her power failing. The ravens caught hold of her hair and pulled her upwards, crashing through the glacier like black fireworks. She shattered into a thousand jagged crystals that sank into the depths of the ocean."

The story in this book feels like a fairy tale (I am thinking of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen) and Linda Sunderland uses some beautiful phrases but the real magic in this book comes from the delicate illustrations. The snow looks so cold. 

Here are a few fragments of the text:

"They were Anya's special lucky flower and they glowed in the dark like sapphires."

"Far away, the gleaming glacier stretched high into the coldest sky where snow is born."

"The hunted creature shook its silvery fur and sniffed the air with its pointy noise; it was an Arctic fox, ghost of the snow."

"They trudged many miles, until at last they saw lights from a village. As they approached the air filled with tears, and the villagers told them of the beautiful woman who had enchanted their children and stolen them away ... "

Make sure you stop and read the poem on the title page which serves as a warning about the Snow Witch.

Who wakes from a sleep of a thousand years? 

Who loves the sound of sighs and tears?

Who changes water into stone?

Who puts the cold in the aching bone?

Who kills colour with deadly white?

Who gives the wind its freezing bite?

Who lurks beneath the glaciers skin?

Who watches, smiles and lures you in?

Today I visited a charity book sale (Lifeline Book Fair) and picked up 48 books for just $80. There are always treasures to be found at these regular fairs and the organisers have high standards to you can be sure the books are in great condition. Some books are in such great shape they look brand new. I don't think my book today has been read more than once in a family - it is in mint condition. It cost $2. 

Raven Child and the Snow Witch was first published in 2016 by Templar in the UK but my copy is from Five Mile Press in Australia. I have the hardcover edition [9781760405144] and it is out of print but the paperback is still available. This is a longer picture book with 48 pages so I would share it with children aged 6+. This book will greatly appeal to fans of the movie Frozen too. 

The illustrations are as powerful and dramatic as the story with bold dark colours set against the vast white of the snow and ice. The use of perspective highlights how small Anya and her father are against the imposing glacial mountains and there is a real sense of anticipation surrounding the Snow Witch. Acorn Books Blog

A stunningly illustrated story, reminiscent of Hand Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, Anya's quest to find her mother and her befriending of animal friends along the way is a mythic tale you'll want to return to every winter. Book Trust

The glittery and sparkly cover is incredibly attractive – I am not sure if I have ever seen such a beautifully presented front and back cover of a book. In the right light the books glistens like freshly fallen snow. Daniel Egnéus has exquisitely illustrated this book. Each page is a complete work of art and shows the emotions of the characters. The use of contrasting colours really makes the main theme and subject stand out of the page. His use of black portrays the desolate landscape, whilst the varied blue tones give the cold frozen ice feeling. Book Bag

Daniel Egneus is a also a fashion illustrator. Born in Sweden, Daniel has lived in Prague, London, Berlin, Bologna, Rome, Milan and has now made Athens his base.   I previously talked about The Thing and I have seen Moth and it is also a wonderful book. 

The Thing

Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson illustrated by Stephen Savage

 

A polar bear cub sets off on a night time walk. It is a magical journey filled with starlight and snow and sleeping animals.

Sadly this book from 2004 is now out of print but you might be lucky and find a copy in a well stocked library. There was once also a board book edition of Polar Bear Night. The lino cut art in this book is very different and ideal to share with a preschool child. Every page looks cold and the polar bear cub, with his little geometric face, is so appealing. In 2004, Polar Bear Night was named a New York Times Best Illustrated children’s book, an ALA Notable Book, and a Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book. Read this interview with Stephen. 

The simplicity in the art, text, and plot belie the deft craftsmanship, like carving an ice sculpture. This bedtime story will captivate young listeners; it sparkles just like ice crystals on a moonlit night. Kirkus Star review

Melt by Ele Fountain

Firstly if you visit or work in a school library where they use genre labels or genre as a way to shelve their fiction titles then I have no idea where you will find Melt. It is a survival story; it is a thriller; there are themes of global warming; it is also about forming new friendships; and I guess this book could also have a label of crime fiction.

Bea's father is a geologist. He works for various petroleum companies looking for, and reporting on, sites with oil reserves around the world. The problem is some of the places on our planet should not be exploited - they should be left as pristine environments but oil companies are driven by profit and not environmental concerns. So in part this book raises the issues surrounding exploitation of the Arctic circle which is home to the Inuit people. 

Bea and her family have moved to yet another new town because her father's work takes them around the world. This means Bea has to navigate yet another school and sadly in this one there are some vicious bullies. Luckily her father announces he needs to fly north in a small company plane to get an over view of the Arctic landscape and Bea will be allowed to go too. Her father has been teaching her how to fly but the pair are keeping this information a secret from Bea's mother. The first flight goes well but over the following weeks Bea senses something is wrong with her dad. He seems distracted and distant. Finally he announces they can fly north again but this time something goes horribly wrong. When they arrive at the remote and tiny Northern airport, Bea watches in horror as her father is beaten up by two men. She races back to the small plane and flies away.

Meanwhile Yutu lives with his grandmother in a small isolated Arctic village. Yutu longs to test his own independence and head away hunting on his own. He convinces a friend to loan his snowmobile, he tells his grandmother he will stay the night with a friend and then he sets off. On his second day the weather turns nasty, the snowmobile crashes and Yutu's life is hanging in the balance.

The scene is set for Bea and Yutu to meet, to help each other, and to solve the mystery of the kidnapping of Bea's father and importantly to discover the way all of this is connected to oil exploration in the arctic. 

I enjoyed the use of alternating voices in the early chapters of this book. I also enjoyed learning more about customs and food of the Inuit people especially through Yutu's gentle grandmother. 

The environmental message never overwhelms but simply runs through the plot and ensures that the adventure itself has greater impact. It is an exciting read with some perilous moments that will keep young readers gripped. A Library Lady

Here is a review by a reader aged 11 and here is a review with more plot details. Thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my advance reader copy of Melt. Here is the web site for Ele Fountain.

Publisher blurb: A boy lives in a remote, snow-bound village with his elderly grandmother. Their traditional way of life is threatened by the changing snow and ice: it melts faster every year. When the sea-ice collapses while he is out hunting, he only just escapes with his life and is left stranded in the Arctic tundra. Meanwhile a girl is trying to adapt to another new school. Her father promises his new job at an oil company will mean they never have to move again, but not long after he starts, his behaviour becomes odd and secretive. When their fates take a drastic turn the girl’s world collides with the boy’s and they find themselves together in a desperate search for survival, and for the truth.

Companion reads:

The Last Bear

Swimming Against the Storm

The Lost Stone of Skycity by HM Waugh

Sunaya has a gift. She can sense danger and safety. She can 'read' people. She's had these skills for a long time but only now does she realise not everyone can do these things. Sunaya and her nephew (who is only slightly older than her) have been sent to remote mountain region in the bitter winter. Their people usually travel to this region in the summer but right now Sunaya's father wants to hide his six prized nanny gotals so they are not taken as part of dowry. Notice that word gotals - this one word tells you this story is set in another world.  The winter mountains are home to the Ice People but for Sunaya and Danam the Ice People are perhaps just the stuff of legends or stories told by Great Aunt Mera.

Travelling through this bitter snow covered landscape Sunaya senses danger. Her Uncle, who is travelling with the children, has forged ahead. Suddenly the snow explodes into an avalanche and First Uncle is killed. Sunaya knows there is no point in searching for him and she convinces Danam to continue their journey. The pair take refuge in a small run down hut. Sunaya has had a sense that someone is watching them.  Indeed this is true - it is a group of Ice People including the Princess, who is next in line to the throne, and her brother the Prince Praseep.

The Ice People are seeking a Cloud Dragon.  The Cloud Dragon will be the protector of the Princess Rishala when she takes over from the dying queen. There is a prophecy:

"The Seers foretold that if we walked to the edge of the Dirt, we'd uncover her Cloud Dragon. We walked there and we saw your group. We watched you come down the slope. One adult, two children. One child in pants who read the slopes expertly, and a child in skirts following who knew nothing."

The problem is the Ice People have the wrong person. They think Danam is destined to be the next Cloud Dragon and so they are taking him away to complete a series of extremely dangerous and complex tasks.  In fact it was Sunaya who was wearing pants, Danam just had his cloak tied around him and it looked like a skirt. Sunaya needs to convince the Princess and her group that she should come to the city with Danam. She does not know about the prophecy, she does not really understand her own power but she is desperate to protect her nephew and the herd of gotals. One of the guards travelling with the Princess, a girl called Aji, seems to sense the truth and later she becomes a very important ally. But what about Vilpur who is also in this group - can he be trusted?

These tests, Sunaya learns, can be fatal. Praseep himself had hoped to be the next Cloud Dragon and take the role protecting his sister but he failed one of the five tests and only lived to tell the tale because he does possess powerful gifts. The tests are designed around: Strength, Courage, Resilience, Compassion and Fortitude. Sunaya must save her nephew but to do that she knows she must face these tests - and win!

The lost stone of the title is the reason for the division of this kingdom into "dirt people" and "ice people". Stones are powerful devices used by the Ice People but Sunaya needs to show serious errors were made in the past and "dirt people" are not really the enemy. Stories from the past need to be rewritten.

I loved the depiction of bitter cold in this story. Thank goodness Praseep can make fireballs.  They kept me warm. I try hard not to say negative things on this blog but, while I totally adored this story, I really really do not like the cover. If I had not been given an Advanced Reader Copy by Beachside Bookshop I am fairly sure I would not have picked up this book and that makes me sad. I do tell students "don't judge a book by it's cover" but of course with books (and sometimes people) this is something we all do. I highly recommend this book and I hope you can convince a middle primary reader to explore the amazing lands, palace and tests of the Ice People.

You can read part of Chapter One here. Read about HM (Heather) Waugh on her web site. I hope this book is listed as a notable title for our CBCA awards in 2020 - yes it is that good! Why did HM Waugh include goats (gotals) in her story? Read about this here. This book will be available from 1st October, 2019.

I would follow The Lost Stone of Skycity with Ottilie Colter and the Narroway hunt; Prisoner of Ice and snow and The Halfmen of O by Maurice Gee.