All the Things

A blog by Holly Papa.

Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed, illustrated by Barbara McClintoc

by | Dec 31, 2012 | Blog | 3 comments

twelve kinds of ice

Long winter nights are now upon us and I have the perfect book for family reading snuggled up by the fireplace. I love finding the perfect read-aloud and am so excited to share this new one with you. Twelve Kinds of Ice brings the magic of family and homemade fun to life. It has a beautiful, melodic rhythm that will lull your family members into peaceful dreams- not full of sugar plums, mind you, but full of figure skating and hot chocolate and melting marshmallow comfort.

This is a magical story of a family that waits for all the subtle signs of winter, so that they can have fun together on the ice. It speaks of Little Women and ‘old-fashioned’ happiness. It makes me long for the simplicity that reminiscing brings to the hard work of creating lasting memories. It reminds me of some of the favorite things of my early years…

I spent some of my childhood at the local ice rink dreaming of becoming a figure skater. The rink closed down at just about the same time I learned to skate backward, so my dreams didn’t take off (but that was the only thing that stopped me, I promise!). One winter, the road froze over in front of our house and we spent a delightful evening shoveling off the top layer of snow and skating around on our instant ice rink. Under the cozy cloud-filled sky laying winter down upon us like a farm maid shaking out a feather bed, I was my own star. Unfortunately, I grew up in a place where winter snows usually melt by afternoon instead of staying for the duration as they do in Maine at the Bryan Gardens Ice Rink Under the Sky in Obed’s book.

I loved this book and plan to snuggle up with my loved ones around the fireplace and share it’s magic with them. I hope you like it as much as I do!

*I received a review copy of this book.

3 Comments

  1. Becky

    This sounds like the old fashioned kind of book I love to share with my kids!

    Reply
    • hollybookscoops

      Yes, I think you would love this book! It makes me want to build an ice rink in my own backyard, make everyone in my family dress in old-fashioned clothes, and sing By the Light of the Silvery Moon…as we skate and smile and love each other. Totally unrealistic I know, but dreams are fun.

      Reply

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