Book Review 📚
Ice children by M.G Leonard - 4.5/5 ⭐

I requested this ARC to read with my son, and it's safe to say we both have a new favourite. We always enjoy reading a book together and it's always great to find a book that we can enjoy without the pressure of "reading more" and just enjoy it.

There was a great mix of adventure and suspense, with a dabble of a fairytale retelling. We both thoroughly enjoyed the story and how it all came together, it was informative but yet not to much information that it became confusing.

The illustrations along the way were beautiful and so incredible. It really is the best story we have had the pleasure of reading. It's gonna be tough trying to top this one, for both of us!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Childrens Books for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

Nothing much to say.. i love the book!! I’m a fan of her Adventures on Train series, and i think this book deserves a five star!

Bianca was shocked when she saw that her little brother Finn has been frozen! The next day, she heard another child was frozen. Everyday there are more and more children were frozen, and her clue is only the sparkling book that she saw every children have.

I love Bianca. She’s brave and love her brother fiercely. When i met Jack, i was instantly reminded of Jack Frost. And i think that the author wrapped the story very well while telling us that our earth is not okay. That we are the children of the world that need to do something so we can preserve our earth. Highly recommended book.

We adored this book. Part traditional old fashioned fairytale, part climate change alert. Strong intelligent female lead and traditional family adventure. A real winner, this book will take pride of place on our family bookshelf. We especially liked the idea of the winter animals, they reminded us of Philip Pullmans daemons.

Young readers will love this enchanting fantasy fairytale winter story. The artwork is the finishing touch. Thank you to Macmillan’s Children’s Books and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I have mixed feelings about this book, as the story’s very poor ending destroyed my enjoyment of the earlier part.

The story opens with a strong hook. At midnight, Bianca’s little brother Finn is found frozen in the park on a pedestal of ice, alive but unable to be woken. On medical advice, he is left there while his family keep watch. Bianca however is determined to rescue him. I loved how she went about the task, following the mysterious and slightly odd stranger, and discovering the ice books and the existence of a sinister plan. As more children appear in the park, frozen like Finn, Bianca finds a way to enter the Winter Wonderland, where the souls of the children are imprisoned, with Finn being the favourite child of the evil Snow Queen.
Up to this point, the plot is really exciting, the setting is beautifully depicted, the prose is engaging and Bianca a strong heroine. Unfortunately the final quarter of the story takes an unexpected turn (SPOILER ALERT - SKIP THE REST OF THIS PARAGRAPH to avoid it). Instead of overcoming the villains, Bianca colludes with them, persuades the other children to do so as well, and the children return home sworn into the service of the Snow Queen in exchange for their lives. Personally I found this quite disturbing, switching from an exciting opening to flagrant propaganda and didacticism. Considering that issues like coercion, kidnapping and brainwashing of young children under pain of death are major plot points, it left me with a bad taste.
I am sure most readers agree that the message should never be the story, regardless of how much you agree with it, although it can certainly be part of the story. However I’ve noticed a certain amount of didacticism creeping into children’s literature in recent years. The Ice Children, sadly, is the worst example of it that I've come across.

Not only was I pulled in by the beautiful artwork and book cover, the name and synopsis was intriguing and I couldn’t pass it by. Children turned to ice? A young girl up against it all to solve the case of the frozen children before the whole town of its youngest inhabitants succumbs? Yes please.

I loved the creeping sense of looming threat and suspense at the beginning as more children are disappearing and turning up captured in ice. With a serene look on their faces and mysterious circumstances, Bianca takes it upon herself to crack the mystery.

Her brother, Finn is the first to succumb and she notices he was in the possession for a certain strange book, could it be the key to saving the children?

It’s a perfect wintry book and reads so easily. It’s perfect for younger (and older) audiences and it’s impossible not to enjoy from start to finish. It was fun, intriguing and well written and the accompanying illustrations in with the text was a perfect touch.

Enthused with winter magic, it’s an beautiful book with an important story and will leave you with a warmer heart and a positive hope for the future.

I am a huge fan of @mglnrd ‘s writing – The Adventures on trains are one of my favourite series ever!

This story is written slightly differently – but equally as beautiful. It has a combination of important environmental elements such as global warming, and fairy tales intertwined together. It is a modern and fresh retelling of The Snow Queen.

The story starts on a December night in a rose garden in the centre of a city where a statue of a small boy, Finn, is found. He has been frozen solid but is still alive, all the adults are puzzled and confused as to how he is still alive and how they can thaw him out. They all try and find solutions to the problem. More and more children become frozen statues. Only Finn’s sister, Bianca seems to be able to solve the problem.

Bianca is a brilliant heroine who stops at nothing to help her brother and the other children. She is brave aswell as thoughtful, reflective and intelligent.

The story itself is fast paced and written wonderfully. There are twists and turns throughout which holds the readers attention.

A fantastic fantasy adventure, a must-read story for children and adults!

This modern re-telling of Hans Christian Anderson's story of the Snow Queen is beautifully done, and the illustrations match the story well.

Bianca Albedo may consider her 5-year-old brother a pest, but she and her parents are devastated when Finn disappears. When he is found, he appears to be frozen - although his heart is beating, he cannot be revived for the time being.

Then, it turns out that this is happening to other children as well. In the hope of saving them all, Bianca sets her keen intelligence to the task of figuring out what is actually happening to the "Ice Children".

She soon begins to suspect that the mysterious young man in the top hat and his associates have something to do with this, as does the strange book that Finn brought home, which has now disappeared. But can Bianca figure it all out swiftly enough to save her little brother, when time is clearly running out?

This is a terrific story, which weaves in a number of themes, not least that of climate change and the need for urgent action. There are recognisable figures such as Jack Frost and the Snow Queen, not to mention a plethora of wintry flora and fauna that combine to deliver atmospheric storytelling that is also strikingly creative.

This should be a great hit with young adventurers in the target age group, and has the potential to become a classic in its own right.

This is a delightful book to read. The story revolves around Bianca who is trying to save her brother, Finn who has been frozen along with other children in a bid to stop the Snow Queen from melting, which would in turn cause winter to cease to exist.
The story is one of conservation in a bid to show children that global warming is having disastrous consequences and if people work together they can make a difference.
It is an important story for 8 to 12 year olds, beautifully illustrated and well written, I can highly recommend it..

I listened to this story on audiobook some time ago and loved it then, reading it again has reminded me of the magical yet sinister storyline. M G Leonard’s world building is always spot on and main protagonist Bianca is wonderful, fiercely brave in protection of her brother, even when faced with darkly seductive and pretty scary circumstances. The story is very reminiscent of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen (which I had on long playing record as a child - yes I’m that old!) and I very much enjoyed the nods to this spellbinding fairy tale.

When reading an early digital copy, you often don't get the illustrations that would be in the final copy, and so you almost feel like you're missing something key. I am happy to report that within 2-3 pages, there was one of Penny's beautiful images, and they really do add something extra to the story. It definitely brought the magic to life, and I can't wait to see them in all their glory in the finished publication.

I read it in the space of about three hours. It was simple and age appropriate, but dark and warming, and a really fun book to read, even as an adult over 3x the recommended reading age.

I did worry at times that it might get too scary for young children, but overall I'd say it's pitched just right. Kids love a bit of scariness, but it just stops before it goes overboard.

I love that the main protagonist is a child. As adults, we so often ignore what children have to say, when they could actually be right, and so by making the main character a child, it gives them the power that they so often deserve. It also shows the love between a brother and sister, as well as the annoyances and tiny bugbears (that feel huge at the time) that siblings so often have.

I love the description of winter in this book. I love winter, the rain, the fog, the snow, the ice, the cold - it's beautiful, but as with all nature, it can have a dark side. And I think M.G Leonard has captured that perfectly. It's beautiful but dangerous.

I go to books - especially kids books - for fun, entertainment, and a distraction from reality. And so when you're enjoying a book like that, and then it suddenly starts talking about (no spoilers) a prevalent topic in real life, it kind of takes you out of the fantasy for a bit. I think maybe if it had been introduced earlier in the book, and not just tagged on near the end it might have worked better for me, to gently ease us into it. But it didn't ruin the reading for me. And I think that kids, it's main target audience, won't have a problem with it. It introduces a very real worry into a fun piece of writing for them.

It's like a cross between His Dark Materials, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Snow Queen. It takes influences from these tales, but makes them their own.

I read this just as the summer was falling into autumn, and even then it felt like a nice warming book. So I imagine it would be perfect for a cold snowy dark winters evening, when you're all huddled around some warming hot cocoa, and reading it to your children (or to yourself).

It just reads like a fairy-tale that will become a children's classic.

Bianca Albedo, like any big sister thinks her five-year-old brother, Finn, is annoying! Then he disappears leaving her parents devastated and Bianca knowing she has to do something. When he is found, a frozen statue, barely alive, she is determined to save him and the other children who continue to disappear.

A tall, strange, young man, and his companions, seem to have something to do with what has happened and, as Bianca follows the clues, she finds herself in a totally different world where nothing is quite as it seems. As she begins to work out what's happening, Bianca also realises she has very little time in which to achieve her goal and save her little brother.

This is a wonderful story with illustrations which compliment it in every way. Bianca, as a main protagonist, is instantly likeable and although her quest is set in a fantasy world it is both easy to understand and realistic with regard to its ultimate message.

There are strong environmental messages here relating to the threat global warming carries for all of us but I would have liked the consequences for our planet through all four seasons to have been mentioned. With its beautiful writing, illustrations, and message this story should become a family festive favourite to be read regularly in the run up to Christmas.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Macmillan Children’s Books, but the opinions expressed are my own. This was an absolute pleasure to read, it's in no way preachy and I loved it.

A magical winter mystery woven through with, among others, Oscar Wilde and Hans Christian Anderson and stitched together with modern themes of climate, love and empathy. Leonard takes us seamlessly back and forth between the real world and Winterton at perfect pace. A story for reading aloud or under the covers for 7+.

One sudden frozen child is a curiosity but a park full of statues is an urgent mystery that needs solving before lives are lost forever. Bianca has an idea about the cause but the grown-ups are too busy fretting about the statues to listen to bizarre notions. Time is running out and Bianca is going to save not only her brother but all the ice children.

The charming illustrations sprinkled through the story are lovely. I loved the idea of the vanishing children’s book being involved in the mystery, perfect for us bibliophiles. It’s a delightful modern fairytale that is perfect for bedtime reading during the festive period. I hope it will bring lots of joy to children and adults alike.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think it would be great for KS2. The message delivered to protect the planet from climate change was delivered with fun and intrigue in this unusual wintery tale. MG Leonard does it again. A future classic.

The Ice Children
By M.G. Leonard
Published by Pan Macmillan

This wonderful new winter tale from M. G. Leonard, takes you on a journey of magic and mysteries.

At the stroke of midnight in December, five-year-old Finn is found frozen in the city park standing on a pedestal of ice. His heart is beating and he is smiling but no one can wake him.

Finn's big sister, Bianca, who is both curious and determined to save her brother needs to find some answers. Suspecting the beautiful sparkling book Finn got from the library has something to do with it, alongside a tall mysterious stranger, Bianca has no time to waste as each day, more children are found frozen.

Her job is to discover the truth and rescue her little brother from a fantastical winter wonderland, full of beauty and danger, where all is not as it seems.
A fabulous winter adventure story perfect for a class read with a strong, determined female character who knows she has a job to do - to save the children before the magic takes over!

Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of Children’s literature.
#Netgalley

What a delightful wintry fairytale adventure! A terrifying amd icy problem has hit the children in Bianca's home town and she is an engaging and strong main character determined to save the day.
Very powerful climate message which would work very well as a class novel for Yr 4, 5 or 6 studying climate change, the Arctic or fantasy setting descriptions.
A lovely wintry, cosy read that I will highly recommend to the children I teach, especially around Christmas time.

I requested to read this book because I loved M.G. Leonard’s Beetle Boy books and the Twitcher series and I was instantly drawn in by the narrative of this modern day fairy tale.
M.G. Leonard explains in her acknowledgments at the back of book how she was inspired by the familiar stories of The Snow Queen, Pinocchio, and The Selfish Giant to create an imaginative new story which will linger in your mind as do many timeless classics. The brilliant action-driven plot does not spend unnecessary time world building without moving the story forward. I can imagine The Ice Children making a lovely magical children’s Christmas movie.
The main character, Bianca has to use her detective skills to work out why more and more children are appearing as frozen statues in the park. She links the strange happenings to a mysterious silver book her brother had discovered in the library. M. G. Leonard realistically portrays how children are not listened to in times of emergency and their ideas dismissed as childish fantasies. The only thing Bianca can do is to sort it out on her own and find out who is responsible for turning her brother and friends to ice. She uses the clues to transport herself to a wintery wonderland, highlighting how books really are doorways to other worlds. I particularly enjoyed reading about the different spirit animals each of the children had in the magical world. I wondered what my own spirit animal would be long before I reached the end. I decided it was probably a bear.
I adored the cover and illustrations by Penny Neville-Lee and believe they would be even more magnificent in a real book format rather than reading on my kindle. The short chapters made this a quick and easy read. I seemed to fly through the pages, devouring every word.
It was evident about half-way through their was no real antagonist. In fact the real villain of the book is us - the human race - whose extravagance and negligence has caused the global warming which the world is suffering from causing a world ‘where winter cannot survive.’
Bianca strives to show the children of the world that they can make a difference as they are the adults of the future. They have the power to make changes to build better habits which will help the environment. In this way, M. G. Leonard has pro-actively crafted a spell-binding novel, which successfully treads the thin line between conveying an important message and preaching. The Ice Children gives children the power to do something now to prevent climate change.
This book leaves you with hope that it will indeed touch people’s hearts and change the way they think.

When children start being frozen into statues overnight, 10-year-old Bianca crosses over into the winter land of Winterton to try to save her brother from having his heart permanently frozen. There she comes up against and ultimately joins forces with Jack Frost in a campaign involving the children of the world to save our winters from the effects of global warming

Successfully draws on folk and fairy tales to produce a beautiful and powerful story with a strong environmental message at its core. Wonderful just to read as an adventure, compelling for themed reading support and highlighting the devastating impact we are having on the climate. Leonard's strong feelings on the matter shine through in her engaging writing and leave you feeling both desperate and hopeful. We all need a winter spirit animal (think mine would be an Arctic Fox)!

As soon as I saw the author, I knew I had to read this and I was not disappointed.
The Ice Children is all about the power of stories and how they can both change and educate at the same time. It is a powerful combination of modern-tale fairytale but with elements of the real issues facing the world -climate change. The characters, particularly Bianca, are believable and you feel great empathy for them and the various situations in which they find themselves.
I think MG Leonard has produced another stunning story here and that this will become a modern-day classic which is enjoyed by both children and adults alike during the winter months.
I can't wait to purchase my copy to share during story time.