The Ice Children

M. G. Leonard's The Ice Children is a wintry mystery for 11 year olds about a girl whose little brother is found frozen solid in the park, and still alive.

What happens

It's December, and it's been warm and wet for weeks. Then Finn, who's only five, goes missing from his bed in the night. He's found in the city rose garden in his pyjamas, standing on a block of ice. He's frozen right through, but the doctor can still hear his heart.

His big sister Bianca was horrible to him at bedtime. They'd fought over a sparkly silver library book he wouldn't let her see. So on top of everything else, she's wondering if this is somehow her fault.

Carved into the ice is a strange poem about winter and the hearts of children. The grown-ups are lost. The police officer gives her the fake smile adults use to stop awkward questions. So Bianca decides to investigate it herself, with her orange diary for notes.

It's creepy in the best way. The cold creeps over the city a little more each day. Frost ferns cover the windows and the milk freezes on the doorstep. Then more children from Bianca's school are found frozen, each one smiling.

And who is the very tall stranger in a top hat and dark glasses who keeps turning up to watch?

Bianca is such a great heroine. She's fierce and stubborn and determined to keep her promise to Finn. She's also a bit lost, with her mum crying and her dad barely talking. Her guilt about that silly argument feels very real (haven't we all said something to a sibling we'd love to take back?).

There's something lovely about how the magic starts with a book, too. If your reader is someone who can't put a story down, they'll understand exactly why a book might be impossible to hand over!

Some of the scenes with frightened parents are quite sad, so it's more tense than cosy. But it's never gory, and Bianca's courage carries you through.

What to read next

If your reader loves a kid who won't wait for the grown-ups to solve things, try Beetle Boy. Darkus is determined to work out how his dad vanished from a room that was locked from the inside.