Chilly Jeweled Treasures

In the midst of winter, snow, wind, and cold can work to create breathtaking artwork.  Last year as I was wandering from beach to beach along Lake Michigan and noting the work of this trio, another admirer asked if I had seen the blue ice at a nearby beach.  I had not.

I believed most of the rare blue ice was to be found along the Lake Michigan shoreline closer to the Mackinac Bridge, but this blue ice was along the shore at the west end of Lake Charlevoix. (Blue ice forms when a combination of clear water, dense ice, and sunlight work together.)  As I pulled into the vacant parking lot and looked across the snow at the lake, I gasped.  Fortunately, the sun was shining and it heightened this spectacular natural wonder.  

One of my favorite authors was also intrigued by the formation of ice when observing the pictures taken by a friend.  When this woman's curiosity is awakened, we can expect an outstanding title to follow.   Ice Cycle: Poems about the Life of Ice (Millbrook Press, October 4, 2022) written by Maria Gianferrari with illustrations by Jieting Chen is a collection of informative original verses enhanced by equally informative and transformative images.  You might want to bundle up as you step into the pages of this brisk book.

Ice Is Born

From freezing water,

Bonds settle into order.

Shapes unfold

Temperature and vapor mold.

Lattice facets

Crystals form habits.

This first of eleven poems introduces us to the creation of ice.  We are also privy to familiar and, perhaps, unfamiliar words used in the context of ice.  It is beginning, too.

The next poem talks about frost before we read about how water freezes on wood, plants, and in soil to fashion hair, flowers, and spikes.  We are intrigued by the range of movements ice makes.  We listen as its sounds fill the frigid air.

Have you ever heard of the word frazil?  This is another beginning on the surface of water, salt and freshwater places.  Ice shapes are given names like hummock and bummock.  If you think the word floe acts alone, you'll be amazed at learning about its partners.

When certain animals are born it is called calving, but this word is used, too, when ice breaks from a larger portion of ice.  Names are also assigned to ice as it grows older, whether it melts or survives melting.  Ice's life finishes and starts with the rising and falling of temperatures.  It is a circle to be savored.

That we are factually informed through poetry is evidence of the talent of author Maria Gianferrari.  She starts and finishes the text with the same three words.  In between those three words, short phrases, rhyming words, alliteration, carefully chosen descriptive adjectives and verbs, and terms relative to ice wrap us in a world of water, wind, and bitter temperatures.  Maria Gianferrari takes us on a journey from the smallest forms of ice to towering giants and landscapes farther than our eyes can see.  Here is a passage.  It is the first part of the poem Ice Plays.

Icicles shine,

Drip and drop.

Ice spikes launch,

Stick and prick.

Cat ice whorls

Swirl and twirl.

Brinicles sink,

Plume and bloom.

Upon opening the matching dust jacket and book case, readers are treated to a single image spanning left to right over the spine.  The color palette definitely depicts a frozen atmosphere.  To the far left of the spine is a large glacier and sheets of ice.  The sheets of ice reach like fingers into the icy blue water.  This takes our eyes to the right side with the clever display of title text shaped like an iceberg.  

These images by artist Jieting Chen

were created with Photoshop.

On the title page a small figure dressed in red stands on a snowy piece of land jutting into the turquoise water.  Rising above the water are enormous mountains of ice.  With a page turn labeled forms of ice,  geometrically framed, stretch from the verso page to the first poem.  

Each page turn is a beautiful surprise.  Jieting Chen varies her perspectives, sometimes within the same illustration.  We might be close to the kind of ice forms featured, or given a wider, more vast viewpoint.  Sometimes to indicate the size of the ice forms, a person or water vessel is placed within the visual.

Smaller labeled pictures are shown in a column off to one side of two pages, or they might be the main highlight as in the poem, Sea Ice Sprouts.  Light and shadow indicate the time of day.  Added details portray sound and movement.

One of my many favorite illustrations is a double-page picture.  It is as if we are standing in an open window on the second floor of a building.  The window opens like a French door.  The panes on the left and right sides are etched with frosty designs.  The tree branches are spiked with delicate spines of ice.  Below in the snow, two children play.  Their forms cast shadows on the snow.  Are they starting to make a snowman or gathering snowballs for a toss and catch?

From the first page to the last page, Ice Cycle: Poems about the Life of Ice written by Maria Gianferrari with artwork by Jieting Chen is captivating.  There is extensive back matter.  The first page is titled Ice Is Nice!  This gives us some basic information.  The next page is dedicated to Freshwater Ice Formations.  Here terminology is thoroughly explained.  This is followed by two pages with words defined relative to Sea Ice and Ice on Land.  There is a short section titled Time to Experiment:  Make Ice Spikes!  At the close under Further Information is a list of books, websites and online articles, photos and videos and sounds of sea and lake ice.  I highly recommend this book for your personal and professional collections.  Use this title as an informational read aloud or as an introductory title for a unit on ice, winter or cold climates.

To learn more about Maria Gianferrari and Jieting Chen and their other work, please access their websites by following the link attached to their names.  At Maria Gianferrari's website she has an activities and resources page for her books.  There are some great ideas for this title.  Maria Gianferrari has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Jieting Chen has an account on Instagram.  This book is featured at author Tara Lazar's site, Writing For Kids (While Raising Them) and at Maria Marshall's site.  At the publisher's website, you can read an excerpt and view interior images.

Maria Gianferrari thinks ice is nice.  After seeing editor Carol Hinz's feathery frost photos on Instagram, she was inspired to find out more.  During her research, Maria was amazed by all the diverse kinds of ice that exist, and this book was born.  Her favorite form is pancake ice.  Maria lives in Massachusetts with her family, where winters usually bring ice and snow. 

   

Hip Hop Hooray

If a wild creature frequents my yard or garden I have the habit of naming them.  As each winter draws to a close, I eagerly await their return.  For several years there was a large toad about the size of my closed fist who comfortably resided beneath the big bush next to my front porch.  I called him Fred.  A tree toad made his home in the corner of my front porch or sometimes I would find him on my back deck.  When Theo would appear in the spring I felt like all was right with the world.  He was a part of my life for three years.

 More than any date on a calendar or weather update I rely on those inhabitants in our natural world to send me signals.  They feel the heartbeat of Mother Earth far better than we ever will.  I could hardly wait for my copy of Toad Weather (Peachtree Publishers, March 2015) written by Sandra Markle with illustrations by Thomas Gonzalez to arrive.  It is well worth the wait.

In the gloomy-gray 
of a March day
the spring rain keeps falling.

Ally and her grandmother are feeling the effects of a day without sunshine; their usual outdoor activities put on hold.  When Mama eagerly opens the door moments later, she urges them to come with her right away.  She has discovered something special in the city.  Ally is ready for an adventure; her grandmother reluctantly agrees to come too.

In the dim light as dusk falls, the trio makes their way down the sidewalks ready to see what there is to see.  As Ally and her grandmother move quickly, ready to get out of the rain, her mother asks them to slow down and carefully look.  Ally does noticing details.  Her grandmother grumbles.

Each time Ally thinks she has discovered the surprise her mother requests them to keep walking.  Each time Mama says no Grandma wants to turn around and go home.  They finally get to a spot where Mama wants them to stop and listen.

Listen for something unusual.

Ally does hear something out of the ordinary.  It's getting clearer as they move closer.  They see a large group of people, police, a road block and toads...lots and lots of toads.  Grandmother's grumbling turns to grinning.  The trio assists in the amphibian march.


Well-known nonfiction author Sandra Markle evokes a keen sense of time and place, specifically the descriptions of weather and time of day, in the telling of this natural phenomenon.  In her Author's Note she speaks about the actual event taking place in a neighborhood located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania each year.  By experiencing it through the voice of Ally and the dialogue between her, her mother and her grandmother, it becomes more personal for us.  Here are a couple sample passages.

Out in the rainy nearly-nighttime,
streetlights are glowing.
So are shop windows.
But the world is soggy dreary.


"Slow down, you two!" Mama says.
"There are lots of interesting things
to see along the way."
"Like what?" Grandma asks.

"For one thing," Mama says,
"look at all the colorful umbrellas."

"It's like being inside a rainbow," I say.


Even though the artwork on the dusk jacket and book case appear to be identical, your guys and gals will notice the subtle difference on the jacket immediately.  Their fingers love to move over raised text or images.  The toad looks and feels as if it's ready to hop at any second.

When you open the jacket and case you can see Thomas Gonzalez has extended the illustration to the left with swirls of rain on the pavement, portions of three other toads moving from the left edge toward the boots and first toad on the front.  The opening and closing endpapers feature water on pavement in an array of color due to other liquids like gas or oil dropping on the rain.  There is a difference in the closing endpapers but I will let you discover the addition yourselves.  On the initial title page Ally, carrying her umbrella and a flashlight, and wearing her spotted boots is looking right at us, a smile on her face.  A clever verso and formal title page combination highlights the apartment window spattered with rain and an image similar to the front jacket and book case.

All the pictures rendered in pastel, colored pencil, and airbrush on 100% rag watercolor paper span across two pages; the text woven into each.  So exquisite are the details it's like looking at softened photographs.  Gonzalez takes us from a conversation exchanged in the apartment to the city streets effortlessly, showing us a more panoramic view or only boots walking down the rainy sidewalks.  The facial features on the characters are absolutely lovely.  I wonder how long he studied toads to get them looking exactly as they are.

One of my favorite pictures is a close-up of Ally.  She is down at ground level looking at worms crossing the grass and sidewalk.  We see her face peering closely at several in particular, flashlight beam illuminating a portion of her face and a worm.  Curiosity and appreciation are evident in her expression.


As I look out my windows at mounds of snow, knowing it will be months before we have our own days fit for our amphibian friends, Toad Weather written by Sandra Markle with illustrations by Thomas Gonzalez is a reminder of the wonder which awaits.  It's an invitation for us to think about the familiar rhythms of the seasons and the life cycles of those sharing the planet with us.  Make sure you save a spot on your shelves for this work of nonfiction.

To explore more about Sandra Markle and Thomas Gonzalez please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  This link takes you to a Teacher's Guide devised by the publisher.


Please take the time to stop by educator Alyson Beecher's website Kid Lit Frenzy to see the titles other bloggers have included in their posts for this week's 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.