Ice Cycle: Poems about the Life of Ice

"From frost, floebergs, and icicles to cat ice, frazil, and bummocks, ice can take many amazing forms. Gianferrari introduces these facts along with the life cycle of ice in rhyming, free-flowing poems. Starting with freezing water on land, the poems describe the creation of crystals, ice threading around plants, ice needles spiking up from soil, and sheets of ice breaking apart and meeting the sea. From here, the second part turns to sea ice and how wind and waves affect its formation. Finally, as temperatures rise, ice melts until temperatures dip and the ice cycle begins again. Strong verbs and onomatopoeia punctuate the active nature of ice, as in 'Ice Plays' ('Brincles sink, Plume and bloom. Pancake ice stacks / Smack and crack.'), while textured digital illustrations in a fitting range of blues emphasize ice's shapes and depth. Extensive back matter fills in gaps with lengthier scientific explanations and specialized glossaries covering terms related to ice formations, sea ice, and ice on land. A decidedly cool collection for STEM."--Booklist

"This is a beautiful book about the various stages and places that ice can grow. The blue-and-white dominated illustrations are beautiful, while the ratio of pictures to words is just right. The book begins with ice being water, and it continues through the various life stages until the ice becomes a glacier. Along the way, readers are introduced to the various forms that ice can take, with detailed pictures that are ideal for the visual learner. This is a wonderful book for wintertime as well as a great addition to an elementary science class. The explanations of various life cycles of ice at the end provide a thorough learning experience for curious and science-minded children. Includes instructions for an activity to grow ice spikes. Highly recommended for any young elementary library. What a great tool to use in teaching children about ice! Reviewer Rating: 5" -Children's Literature

"Eleven poems encapsulate the life cycle of ice, with digitally rendered illustrations detailing ice's myriad forms in a crisp, cool palette. The first poem, 'Ice Is Born, ' highlights the crystalline shapes that are its building blocks. Each receives its own labeled inset, reminiscent of science texts, and it's a brilliant blending of the imaginative and factual. Poems like 'Ice Grows' and 'Ice Speaks' are quite lyrical, incorporating sensory imagery and onomatopoeia into the world of ice. Once 'Sea Ice Is Born, ' appears, however, the more complex topic shifts the poetry from less melodic to more scientific pieces. The art is a smooth constant; the graphic design is exceptional, and most poems have their own spread, building a multilevel and vibrant world. Rich back matter includes an explanation of water in its three forms, user-friendly definitions, and a link to an online experiment for ice spikes. VERDICT A supplementary purchase to invigorate the A in STEAM."--School Library Journal

"From hummocks and bummocks to frazil and floebergs, an introduction in poems and explanatory notes to ice's many states and formations.

Gianferrari's sonorous drifts of free verse are sometimes confusingly allusive on first reading--'Cat ice whorls / Swirl and twirl. / Brinicles sink, / Plume and bloom. // Pancake ice stacks / Smack and crack'--but make clearer sense after examining the illustrations and reading the extensive notes at the end. Readers who think ice in nature comes only in sheets, floating chunks, or icicles are in for an eye-opening experience as, in naturalistic vignettes and vistas, Chen depicts silky strands of hair ice around twigs and needle-thin spikes emerging from frozen ground; freezing seawater undergoing subtle color changes while crystallizing from 'frazil' to 'grease ice, ' 'nilas, ' and ultimately free-floating sea ice; and, when temperatures rise, aging into 'rotten' or 'candle' ice before melting to begin the 'ice cycle' again. Though the author neglects to note that water boils at 212 degrees only at sea level (and simplistically claims that it comes only in three states), she finishes off handsomely, listing types of terrestrial and marine ice (of which 'new' sea ice alone has seven); explaining how floebits, floebergs, brash ice, and growlers are distinguished by their size ranges; defining numerous other special terms; then closing with leads to books, videos, and science projects. Bundled-up human figures in the pictures are rare and small but do show variations in skin color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A rewarding exploration of a common substance's complex nature."--Kirkus Reviews