To the Ice
by Thomas Tidholm (Author) Anna-Clara Tidholm (Illustrator)
Three children go on a polar expedition in this thrilling adventure story for newly independent readers that blurs realism and imagination.
Ida, Max, and Jack go to the creek one winter's day. They play on an ice floe then find themselves floating away--all the way to the polar ice, with just a box, a branch and some sandwiches.
"You probably don't think it's true, and we didn't either, not even while it was happening..."
They find an old hut, meet penguins, see extraordinary things, and, after testing their resources in this dramatic land of ice and snow, come home safe at the end of the day.
"What shall we say about where we've been?" asked Max.
"Tell the truth," I said. "We don't know."
To the Ice is a beautifully produced chapter book that absorbs young readers in a real-life make-believe filled with problem-solving and adventure. This is a thrilling and plot-filled story for budding explorers and ice adventurers--the kind of book children will remember throughout their lives.
Thomas Tidholm is a Swedish photographer, poet, playwright, and writer. He and Anna-Clara Tidholm have together created a string of award-winning books for children since the early 1980s.Anna-Clara Tidholm is one of Sweden's leading children's book authors and illustrators with a varied and rich bibliography. Her prizes include the Elsa Beskow plaque, German Youth Literature Prize, Astrid Lindgren prize and August prize.
Translated from the Swedish edition by Julia Marshall.
Praise for To the Ice
"[A]n enthralling blend of survivalist realism and fantasy."--Publishers Weekly
"This utter delight of a story is highly recommended!"--Readings, Australia
"A good children's book ignites curiosity in adults. To the Ice left me with research rabbit holes to go down and connections to make. On one level, this is an adventure story along the lines of Where the Wild Things Are." --New Zealand Herald
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Publishers Weekly
Married Swedish collaborators the Tidholms produce a suspenseful tale in this three-chapter polar adventure. While playing at a nearby creek, brothers Jack and Max, along with their friend Ida, who narrates, find themselves adrift on a fast-flowing current after the ice they're walking on separates from the riverbank. Soon, their makeshift raft floats them into a featureless ocean; when the floe fetches up against an ice shelf, they start walking. Watercolor spreads depict the three youths in caps and knapsacks dwarfed by the expansive polar sky and endless fields of ice. Picnic sandwiches sustain them on their journey until they bed down in a crevice, where an apparition shows Ida the way to a wooden shelter left behind by previous explorers. There, the trio spends the winter enduring mind-numbing boredom ("We learned to braid each other's hair. We got quite good at it") and living off the abode's store of fish balls. Later, equally startling developments ("To be terrified, to think that it's all over, that you're actually going to die") give way to a quiet resolution in this strange, enthralling blend of survivalist realism and fantasy. Ages 6-9. (Nov.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV030120 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | Polar Regions
