Twelve Kinds of Ice

I’ve never enjoyed ice skating – too cold of a sport for me. But reading Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed almost makes me want to skate.

A cross between a picture book, a novella and a memoir, Twelve Kinds of Ice builds the anticipation for all the different kinds of ice for skating.

It starts with the first ice. The first time the children find a thin film of ice in the water bucket in the barnyard.

It builds and builds to the joy of the perfect ice – perfect ice for skating in the homemade rink Dad made on the garden bed. The whole neighborhood eagerly anticipated that ice – and enjoyed it.

Illustrations by Barbara McClintock help children picture each of the ices Obed describes. If you love skating, and even if you don’t, you will enjoy this book.

Recommended for ages 5 (as a read aloud) to 12.