Leaf & the Long Ice

by Jo Marshall

A tiny stick creature named Leaf lives in an old forest at the foot of an ancient volcano, which is capped by a massive glacier called the Long Ice. Leaf often entertains his younger, twin brothers with stories about the rare snow beasts that still survive on the Long Ice even though it shrinks more and more as the seasons grow hotter. One afternoon, the twins run away to play in the snow before it all melts. They hitch a ride on a giant moth, befriend a snowshoe bunny, and stumble upon a hermit's creepy cave. Mistaking the hermit’s odd pets for a cave beast's meal, the twins rescue them all. When a bold mountain goat kid leaps into the expedition, a mighty eagle attacks! Panicked, they rush into the glacier’s icy tunnels, and are lost in a maze of melting, blue tubes.

Yet, all is not lost, for with the help of a courageous pika Leaf and the hermit join forces to find the twins. But in a dreadful turn of events, it is the snow beasts of the Long Ice that will decide their fate.

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 7, 2013

About the author

I enjoy writing fantasy novels ~ 'Twig Stories' ~ for children ages 8 to 12 who love nature and adventure. I use the pen name Jo Marshall because no one can pronounce D'Nelle Bloechl.

Twig Stories tell of impish stick creatures in the ancient forests and on the pristine glaciers of the Pacific Northwest, where the fragile world of mysterious, rare animals and lush rainforests are endangered by climate change.

All four Twig Stories novels are illustrated by the award-winning Disney artist David Murray, whose many credits include Tarzan, Lilo & Stitch, Curious George, Mulan, and Brother Bear. David is a recipient of the New York Society of Illustrators Gallery & 2004 Gold Aurora Award.

Royalties are shared with conservation nonprofits.

Please visit the Twig Stories website: http://www.twigstories.com

Some other links for Jo are:
Amazon.com Author page: http://www.amazon.com/author/jo.marshall
Facebook book/fan page: http://facebook.com/twigstoriesbooks
Facebook author page: http://facebook.com/twigstories
Twitter & Pinterest: @TwigStories

Reviews

[Jo Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Excellent storytelling combined with accurate science make this book a must-read for children interested in nature and stories of adventure."
Sarah Boon, PhD, Alberta Water and Environmental Science
University of Lethbridge

“The theme of environmental change is woven into the narrative as a backdrop to a story of adventure, danger, camaraderie, and kindness. Readers of all ages will relate to the magic that draws Buddy and Burba to the snow in the first place, and will be reminded of our connection to Earth's changing cryosphere.”
Dr. Gwenn Flowers, Canada Research Chair in Glaciology
Simon Fraser University

“Leaf & the Long Ice is a must-have in your library. Rich fictional characters, vivid word imagery, evocative sensorial language, and layered science content... Jo Marshall gives us a great age-appropriate teaching tool that helps lay a foundation for students in fostering a nature care-taker's ethic.”
Clay Heilman, Environmental Educator
Nature Vision

[Lacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this Jo Marshall's writing style and I was asked to give an honest opinion to this ARC. The character development was totally awesome, the build up in finding the certain characters was nice also. It was just an excellent way to tell a story and YES YES YES I do recommend this book. It was my first read by this author but it will not be my last. ~ LSK Sweetheart Reviews~ Lace

[Wayne Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would Twigs be doing on a glacier? Twigs are tiny creatures made out of sticks and leaves and usually dwell in forests. Leaf is a Twig who lives with his family, including father Pappo, mother Mumma, sister Fern, and younger twin brothers Burba and Buddy, in an old forest at the foot of an ancient volcano, which is capped by a massive glacier called the Long Ice. Pappo, Mumma, and Fern are off on a trip, and Leaf is left to watch the twins. Leaf entertains his younger brothers with a story about Pappo’s experiences with the rare snow beasts that still survive on the Long Ice even though it shrinks more and more as the seasons grow hotter.

One afternoon, the two little boys run off while Leaf is asleep, hitch a ride on a giant moth (moonwing), fly away to play in the snow before it all melts, and promptly get lost. When Leaf discovers them missing, he catches a ride on a caribou (woodland ghost) to go and find them. Leaf enlists the help of the hermit Mantru, a Willow Twig who lives on the Long Ice, a pika named Winkers, and a snowshoe hare named Poppy, to help find Buddy and Burba, who have befriended a snowshoe babe named Puff, a horned lark named Flip, some mice (squeakers), and a mountain goat (ridgerunner) kid named Buck who has run off from his herd. Will Leaf locate his brothers? Will Burba and Buddy survive their ordeal? And what will happen when they are all chased by a wolverine (rover) named Musty, a fox (sniffer), and an eagle named Slayer?

This is book number three of the Twig Stories series. Most parents will have no problem with the fact that the word “butt” is used somewhat frequently with reference to the rear end, but some parents might want to know it ahead of time. Once toward the end it is said that Leaf “lied.” The story is meant to engage young readers in conversations about climate change research, which is a very controversial topic. Various scientists take different positions on its nature and effects. However, regardless of one’s view, we all need to be aware of potential problems with the earth’s environment, and anyone can still enjoy the exciting adventure of Leaf and his brothers. Also, royalties are shared with nonprofit organizations that are concerned with the protection of wildlife, nature conservancy, and the preservation of forests. Discounts, puzzles, reviews, and news are all available at the Twig Stories website.

[Erik This Kid Reviews Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taken from the Twig stories website - ”Twigs are impish stick creatures – not much taller than robins. Tiny leaves sprout from their arms and legs, and their toes are very curly like roots. Their long, leafy hair can be many different colors – emerald, bronze, flaming red, and gold, for example. Twigs live in all sorts of trees, but the knotholes of enormous ancient cedars, big leaf maple, silver-leafed poplar, and whitebark pine are their favorite havens.”

Leaf is back on another adventure! This time, Leaf’s Mumma and Pappo ask Leaf to look after his twin brothers because they are taking Leaf’s sister off on an “adventure” (to check on something from the end of the 2nd book). After an exhausting time of babysitting, Buddy and Burba (the twins) fall asleep. Leaf decides to take a nap too. The only problem with this plan is that the twins were only faking and when Leaf goes to sleep, the twins sneak out! The twins decide they want to go and see the “Long Ice,” a giant glacier on Echo Peak (a mountain). The twins don’t know all the dangers that are at the glacier. When Leaf finds out their plot, he has to race to rescue them so they don’t get hurt!

This is the third book in the Twig Stories series and this one is as good as the others (book 1, Leaf and the Rushing Waters and book 2, Leaf and the Sky of Fire)! Like books 1 and 2, Leaf and the Long Ice has an environmental theme. This book has a message about global warming and what may happen because of it. The action and adventure in the book is great and it isn’t too scary for younger kids. Ms. Marshall writes very well for children. The twig characters are very unique and I love reading about them. Leaf is a great main character. I like the environmental messages in Ms. Marshall’s books because they are important for kids to learn about. I also love the illustrations in the books!
**NOTE I got a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Nikki Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a difficult time deciding how to rate this book because there were parts that I really liked and parts I was so-so about, in some cases both were the same. For example, I loved Jo Marshall’s descriptive passages. She really captures the feel of the outdoors and the flavor of this half-magical, half-real world. The descriptions are very well done. The problem I had, is I thought there were too many and in some spots I tended to want to skim them, as well-written as they were.



I also liked the excitement of the young twin twigs and thought their banter between the two was pretty funny, but all the exclamation points got a bit annoying. The characters were well thought out and creative. The animals (except for the fox for some reason) are given twig names (like Howler for wolves) which I thought was rather clever, but it did get a bit confusing when the small twigs gave the animals actual names (Puff, etc.) and I had to keep track of all of ‘em, and which type of animal they were.



But the story is solid and well thought out. It’s full of adventure and has some important but not over-preachy messages about the environment. I think it might be a little too long in a way, but I ended up giving it 4 stars because I did like it. It’s also the third book in the series, and I haven’t read the first two, which might have ingrained some of the animal names better in my head, as well as a better feel for the twig characters, if I had read them first.

Nik's Picks BOok Reviews
www.nikki-bennett.com

(The author provided me a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.)