The Ice Children

by M.G. Leonard, Penny Neville-Lee

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

Finn’s big sister, Bianca, suspects that the tall mysterious stranger who first discovered Finn knows more than they will admit and her quest to discover the truth and rescue her little brother hurls her into a fantastical winter wonderland, full of beauty, danger and irresistible spirit animals, where all is not as it seems.

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Middle Grade

Hardcover

Published November 2, 2023

About the author

M. G. Leonard is a writer of books, poems and screenplays. She has a first-class honours degree in English literature and an MA in Shakespeare Studies from Kings College London. She works as a freelance Digital Media Producer for clients such as the National Theatre, and Harry Potter West End, and previously worked as a Senior Digital Producer at the National Theatre, the Royal Opera House and Shakespeare’s Globe. She spent her early career in the music industry running Setanta Records, an independent record label, and managing bands, most notably The Divine Comedy. After leaving the music industry, she trained as an actor, dabbling in directing and producing as well as performing, before deciding to write her stories down. Maya lives in Brighton with her husband and two sons.
You can visit her online at www.mgleonard.com. Follow her on Twitter @MGLnrd.

Reviews

[Judith Damstra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Het boek De IJskinderen trok mij in eerste instantie aan door de vlaptekst. Het verhaal voelde voor mij wat te voorspelbaar. Ik had al snel door welke richting het opging, waardoor de spanning verdween. Bovendien lag de boodschap over klimaatverandering er erg dik bovenop. Hierdoor voelde het soms meer aan als een sluikreclame dan als een avontuurlijk  kinderboek.

[Bianca Tönjes · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Die Eiskinder" von M.G. Leonard und Niklas Schütte ist ein wundervolles Wintermärchen.

Die Protagonistin Bianca, 11 Jahre, versucht ihren Bruder Finn, 5 Jahre, aus einem eisigen Zustand zu befreien. Finn wurde durch ein magisches Buch zu einer Eisstatue. Jeden Tag folgen weitere Kinder aus Eis in der Stadt. Bianca versucht die Kinder zu retten und geht dem ganzen auf die Spur. Hierbei trifft sie auf verschiedene Wintergestalten und eine märchenhafte Winterwelt.

Das Buchcover hat einen wunderschönen Farbschnitt.

Die Kapitel sind perfekt zum Selberlesen oder Vorlesen. Es ist sehr flüssig und mitreißend geschrieben. Man fliegt nur so durch die Geschichte.

Die wundervollen Illustrationen unterstützen die Geschichte perfekt und sind sehr liebevoll gestaltet.

Eine sehr spannendes und interessantes Buch über den Winter und die Folgen des Klimawandels. Wobei die Fantasygeschichte im Vordergrund steht und erst zum Ende die ernstere Thematik angesprochen wird.

Eine sehr inspirierende Geschichte, die zum Nachdenken anregt, sowohl für Kinder als auch Erwachsene.

Ich kann das Buch sehr empfehlen!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly I came away from this one feeling underwhelmed. I love winter for the magic it can conjure, but The Ice Children felt as though it was seriously lacking the magic that I thought it was going to contain.
At its heart, the message that it is trying to put across is an important one. But, despite this, I felt that the way it was put across missed the mark for me. I didn't feel that the story was very well created, and there certainly wasn't very much tension to the whole tale. The characters seemed to be two dimensional, meaning that I didn't feel any connection to them.
I'm not sure which age group would take to this - when I was a child, I think it would have been too simple for me when I was at the target age, as I devoured books so always wanted something above where I should be.
A real shame, but rather than being similar to The Snow Queen, which is a classic, this book will fade from my memory as soon as I close the last page.

[Melissa H · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ice Children is a magical, wintery tale that is reminiscent of traditional tales and fairy stories. I felt like I should be reading it sat by a fire in a log cabin, wrapped in a shawl. It was a comforting read, yet unexpected in plot, which made it a perfect read.
The story begins with a child found frozen on the ice. Then another child is found in the same way, and another, and so on... The sister of one of the ice children takes it upon herself to save her brother and stop the curse before more children are frozen forever.
At this point, I was expecting it to be an evil snow queen or ice monster. What I wasn't expecting was for the story to become an important but unpatronising message about our role in climate change.
It was very unlike other stories I've read written by M.G.Leonard but the perfect book to share with children over the wintery months.

[Sophie Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really exciting. and enjoyable read. I couldn’t put it down. I’ve bought a copy for our Year 5 children to read at school too which I know they will love.

The book was extremely well written - I loved the characters and how they were described. The accompanying illustrations were wonderful and really added to the magic. The storyline was a reimagining of The Snow Queen and had the issue of global warming entwined into it which was done very well, prompting the reader to think carefully about what the world would be like without winter and the changing seasons.

The story captured the beauty and the magic and excitement of winter for children and adults - the snow and ice on the ground, the animals, the snowball fights, ice skating, snowmen building. Such a magical season and this was a magical read.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars. What a lovely and wonderful book! It gripped me all the way through and I loved the characters. The only thing that was a little too on the nose for me, was the focus on stopping climate change in the end. I do think it's a wonderful message for a middle grade book, I just feel like there could've been a more tactful way to approach it (outside of "I'm going to eat less meat!" shouted by a random girl in the crowd).

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up to 5
I really enjoyed my last Book of the Month.
A children's book that was easy to read but still fun. I loved the way that we got an epilogue that told us what happened years later, and that it's implied the main character wrote the book I just read.
Thoroughly enjoyable and one for the school library list

[Joanne Eglon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

Aimed at primary school age, I read this with my daughter.

Started off strong and definitely preferred the first half of the book.

Nice black and white illustrations dotted throughout.

Modern retelling of The Snow Queen, whilst trying to tell a message about Climate Change.

Fun, wintery, adventurous with a little magic sprinkled in.

Would recommend to young children 💕

[Isa Rive · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a real cold wintery fairytale. Children begin to be discovered frozen in the park. They are like statues- alive but unresponsive. Our observant hero follows clues to try to save her brother.
I’m a big fan of MG Leonard’s writing but this one didn’t hit the mark for me. I found the climate change connection a little preachy.

[Gill James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an engaging fairy tale and reminds us of Hans Christian Andersen’s Snow Queen and the similar figure in Narnia. There is as well a strong message about climate change. There are some charming illustrations by Penny Neville-Lee.

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart-melting literally
A fun winter story that shows the world
how to help save our planet

[Roanna25 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely story. Got a little preachy towards the end...sure it's all true but a smidge on the preachy side

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and deeply imaginative, however I found it, at points, to be over-worthy and hand-wringingly earnest.

[Mab · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this - it went in directions I didn't expect and the imagery was energetic and vivid.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fairytale-esque story hooked me from the start! A creative spin on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen.” Bianca’s brother, Finn, is frozen into a statue and other children soon follow. Bianca tries to unravel the mystery of what’s going on. I can’t say much more without spoiling the story. Just know it’ll have you frustrated and biting your nails in the best way! Bianca is a caring, loving character that will have you rooting for her the whole time.

Personal opinion: While the message about global warming is extremely relevant and important, I felt that it came on too strong. It was as if the tone and mood shifted suddenly into borderline political territory. That could’ve been what Leonard was going for, but I think the same point could’ve been made in a subtler way that didn’t lose the magic of the story.

Regardless, I still gave the book a 4/5 stars. A fun, magical read!

[Sophie Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a powerful and magical story with a strong message that books have the power to change the way people think about things , and Bianca’s bond with Pordis is also really magical I highly recommend this book