Absolutely no better way to try and cool off in this 100+ degree weather than with this nonfiction poetry book on the many types of ice and their cycles. Beautiful illustrations, and superb back matter makes this a great title for everyone. Publisher information says the intended audience is K-2, but this title is multidisciplinary and is appropriate for any student studying life cycles, ice, or poetic devices.
Thank you to Millbrook Press, an imprint of Lerner Publishing, and Netgalley for the digital arc. #Bookaday #IceCycle

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This book takes a poetic approach to explaining the cycle that water and ice naturally recycle. It also deepens knowledge on different types of glacial ice and explored the effects of global warming. The artwork is bright and enhances the information presented. As an elementary science teacher, I highly recommend this book for the classroom. I will be purchasing it!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. My review will be posted on instagram at lizzies_little_library_

Thanks to Netgalley and Lerner Publishing for the ARC of this!

Beautiful, lyrical and educational poetry about ice. This introduced a good amount of topics, had beautiful language and illustrations. My kids enjoyed listening to it.

Ice Cycle by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Jieting Chen (Millbrook Press, 2022) is subtitled “Poems about the Life of Ice,” and I must say that I had never considered a variety to ice! Yes, as Gianferrari shows in her simple poems, ice is unique in every situation, and it changes form as does water itself.

Ice appears in a variety of formats, and the temperature and vapor impact how it will look. The first poem mentions this: “Shapes unfold/Temperature and vapor mold.”

Did you, dear reader, ever consider how ice can look like needles, snowflakes, pyramids, and more? If this is all frozen water, how come it looks so different? I live in Chicagoland, which tends to get a bunch of snow all winter, so I know: some snow is easier to shovel than others. Now, as I live among the snow, I’ll be considering all the ways that ice can form.

I’ve heard of icicles, but I didn’t know so many of these other terms: frazile, nilas, ice rind, shuga, hummock, bummock. The illustrations show us these types of ice, and the end matter clarifies with definitions, even clarifying between freshwater ice and seawater ice. Who knew there was so much to learn about ice?

I love the personification of ice in these simple poems: “Frost ferns./ It swirls and curls.” Each kind of ice seems to have its own personality. The ice seems alive, which is what I really enjoy most about the book: it truly is discussing a “cycle” of ice, a reminder that just as water moves in different forms, ice (a part of that water cycle) can also transform.

The couplet coming at the end of the book (second to last page, at least) nicely captures this cycle for us:

Temperatures rise

Ice dies . . .

Temperatures dive

Ice comes alive

My favorite two-page spread is the poem called “Ice Speaks.” which emphasizes the “life” in ice. The picture shows a child in a warm-hooded coat at the edge of a pond. The majority of the picture shows the pond and golden supernatural-like sparkles coming from the ice to indicate the voice as “Ice sings and pings: Ring! Boing! Ding!

Overall Ice Cycle nicely captures the unique nature of ice in the water cycle, in our winter habitats, and around the world. It would work well for a winter unit, a water unit, or even an iceberg lesson. There is much more to ice than meets the eye.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Fun poems. Lush pictures. STEAM learning. This book was a wonderful read.

This book of children's poetry is great. It has beautiful illustrations. I would call this book a "first Science book" for younger children who are not in school yet. The definitions of each ice types are great. I have not learned ice types in school so the little ones will learn this first. I would use this book as a teaching tool for my son.
Its great fun learning these ice types.

I received a free copy of the book and is voluntarily writing a review

This book is beautiful, informative, creative, and fascinating. I love books about nature. I could use this in so many ways in the classroom. It’s loaded with new vocabulary words, teaches science concepts, and is poetry. I will use this as a mentor text for my students who can create a book in a similar style to teach about a topic they choose.

A cute book om ice and the ice cycle through the use of poetry. Wonderful illustrations to accompany the poems.

I thought this was a good mix of scientific facts about the water cycle and short poems. I never knew that there were that many kinds of ice and they had names. I also thought the illustrations were complimentary to the text. probably not strong enough for list.

This story was a fabulous collection of poems and pictures! I read about phrases and terms I had not heard of before throughout the various poems. I really enjoyed the definitions at the end of the book because my children and I were able to look up facts and vocabulary to continue our discussions. I foresee this book becoming part of our library for many future reads. Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Ice Cycle
Poems about the Life of Ice
by Maria Gianferrari
This is a terrific book with so much information along with excellent artwork to enhance the information. It's all about the life cycle of ice! I have heard of different phrases about ice in my day but I have never heard of brash ice, ice tongue, brinicle, hummock, bummock, shuga, nilas, rotten ice, or candle ice! I have two degrees and I think my science teachers have failed to teach me certain things along the way! This book cleared that up!
The publisher has this for ages 5-9 years old but I would suggest 7-12 yr olds.
I enjoyed the info and the artwork.
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this book!

I love a book, especially a children's book, where I the parent also learn so much! I knew some of this about ice, but truly I learned so much! The pictures were also so well done so we were able to talk quite a bit together while reading this!

This book is a mix of science and language arts. You’ll learn about the Ice Life Cycle and different kinds of ice while enjoying poems about the ice. In the back you’ll find information about ice. This is the perfect book for a Poetry Tea Time, science, or to read at bedtime.

Thank you NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for the opportunity to review this book.

Book received for free through NetGalley

I absolutely loved this book. The words were great and the images amazing. I enjoyed reading it to my kids. In the words of them:
8 year old: It was amazing. Also I’m from Canada so I love seeing ice.
6 year old: It is so amazing. I just want to hug it but I know that I cannot.

What I love most about this book is how it encompasses art and science all at once. The poems are entertaining and insightful, while the images help to explain and describe the science. The images are beautiful and I can't wait to read more books like this. It is a fantastic book for learning.

What a great, informative book on ice and the ice cycle. I loved the poetic devices found throughout. Would be excellent for naming and noticing poetic devices and exploring how to choose science based books for poetry writing. This book could prove a doorway into high interest writing for many children in upper grades. Love it!

Ice Cycle by Maria Gianferrari was a fun and educational illustrated book about ice. Even as an adult I learned so much. As I lover of nature, I love how this book demonstrated the beauty and uniqueness of nature. The illustrations by Jieting Chen were lovely as well, and I always love when words and poetry come together as art. This was a fun, beautiful, and education book that I would recommend for any age, and would be a great book to read with your kids. I think this would be a great addition to any school or local library or private collection.

I received an eARC from Lerner Publishing Group through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

Love the beautiful illustrations and poems explaining how water turns to ice. Great science read for kids! Really enjoyed this read and would like to explore more works from this author.

Very interesting and informative children's book about how ice is created along with how it melts. It is paired with great illustrations as well.