Ice Boy

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An ice cube in search of adventure stars in a comical (and very cool) tale of transformation from Caldecott Honoree David Ezra Stein.

Ice Boy has a normal life. He likes goofing around with his siblings ("Don't lick your brother!"). He listens when his parents tell him that being chosen to cool someone's drink or be a cold compress is the best thing that can happen to an ice cube. But Ice Boy wants more. So even though his parents tell him never to go outside, and even though his doctor tells him never to go in the sun, Ice Boy decides to head for the beach, where he rolls right into the water ("Best day ever!"). But suddenly his edges begin to blur. . . . From the creator of the best-selling Interrupting Chicken comes an offbeat and funny story of daring to venture into the unknown, whatever form it may take.

Reviews (5)

School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 2-Ice Boy lives in the freezer with his ice cube community and family. With plenty of dark humor, the story's narrator sets up the main conflict: "Once in a while, someone was taken. Usually for a person's drink. To be chosen was the best thing that could happen to an ice cube. At least that's what Ice Boy's parents said." Ice Boy refuses to surrender passively to this unknown fate and instead decides to make his own way. He ignores all warnings, leaves the freezer, and travels to a sunny beach. From here Ice Boy embarks on a wild and dramatic journey through the water cycle. High-energy linework throughout the pale, icy colors of the spot art and full-page spreads create a fast pace and plenty of exaggerated humor that works well with the comical text. Speech bubbles in the art bring more personality to the characters and help to distinguish Ice Boy within the stages of the cycle as he shifts to Water Boy ("Aaah! Tastes salty!") and Vapor Boy ("Look what I did!") until a storm turns him into a piece of hail and he is Ice Boy again. Coming full circle, Ice Boy falls from the sky right into a drink, where his parents are bobbing about. The drink is tossed out on the ground, and while the ice family wonder what adventures await, budding scientists will likely have some ideas. VERDICT Funny and entertaining, this book starring an independent ice cube is a truly enjoyable tour through the water cycle that offers insights into the dynamics of life in the freezer.-Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

Stein's intrepid ice cube hero wants more from life than a tenuous existence in a freezer and a destiny of being "chosen"-his fatalist family's euphemism for becoming part of someone's drink or cold compress. Ignoring everything Ice Boy has been told ("Never go outside. Never ever go outside"), he makes his way to the ocean and discovers that rather than dissolving into nonexistence, a wide world of adventures awaits: first as "Water Boy," then as "Vapor Boy," and then again as a pellet of summer hail. His return to a solid state brings about a reunion with his parents, who are stoically chilling a patio drink; using his newfound knowledge and confidence, Ice Boy rallies them to join him on a new water cycle adventure. Stein (Tad and Dad) renders his funny mixed-media paintings in bright blues and stormy grays, and peppers them with quippy dialogue balloons ("Am I dense, or did I just become a liquid again?"), proving that science can be empowering on many levels and that "you do you" can contain multitudes. Ages 3-7. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Horn Book Review

What can you do when the life of a simple ice cube or cold compress is too mundane for you? Even though Ice Boys parents, grandparents, and doctor warn him to stay safely inside the icebox, Ice Boy escapes to the outside (Hello, world!). He loves the outside with its beach and its sunand he soon becomes Water Boy, with friendly waves and sea creatures to keep him happy. He washes back up on the beach, and before you can say drip-drop, Water Boy has morphed into Vapor Boy and, later, back to Ice Boy (in the form of hail). After his adventures, he lands back home--and coaxes his parents into joining him for more fun. Best Day Ever! Steins joyful, varied mixed-media illustrations will bring smiles to young readers faces. The edges of Ice Boys own face mirror his adventures through the water cycle: at first he is sharp and rectangular, then his edges round out and soften to indicate vapor (even the fonts soften). Ice Boy knows how to enjoy what life has to offer, from a dip in the ocean to a tickly ride on a waterspout. Young readers are often taught about the water cycle; this droll story will be fine addition to a classroom library. robin smith (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

From chunk of ice to evaporation and back again, a young ice cube decides to break away from his ice tray to see what's beyond his destined outcome. Readers meet Ice Boy, who leads an ordinary life in the freezer with his siblings, parents, and other ice cubes. The omniscient narrator also explains "Once in a while, someone was taken. Usually for a person's drink." Getting "chosen" is "the best thing that could happen to an ice cube." Opting instead for an extraordinary path, Ice Boy proceeds to sneak out of the freezer, where he embarks on a water-cycle escapade: he wanders to the salty beach, where his "edgesblur," and he becomes Water Boy; he is then washed in with the tide, plays with seashore wildlife, soaks into a beach towel, begins to steam, and becomes Vapor Boy. Now a cloud and light as air, he rises higher, gets denser, and runs into a thunderstorm, until he freezes and gravity pulls him down to be Ice Boy once more. An allegory for breaking away from the mold, the story doubles as a light lesson on the water cycle. While a mostly blue-gray watercolor palette appropriately fills the spreads, the nuances in the book may fail to charm readers. Despite cheeky dialogue-bubble interjections, Ice Boy may be just too twee to connect with readers, leaving them uninterested in this well-meaning adventure. It misses the markskip it. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

An energetic ice cube, Ice Boy, is reluctant to end up chosen like other cubes in his home, the freezer. Some cubes end up in drinks, others in cold compresses, but Ice Boy is far more adventurous. Even though he's been warned to stay in the freezer and out of the sun, he defies both warnings, making his way to a beach, where he dives right into the surf. Before he knows it, he becomes Water Boy, but washing back up on the beach, where it's hot, quickly turns him into Vapor Boy, and he wafts up into the clouds. In the clouds, he turns back into Water Boy, but a summer thunderstorm turns him right back into Ice Boy in the form of hail. Stein's offbeat, animated story makes lively work of the water cycle with cartoonish, doodlelike illustrations of the adventurous ice cube set against aqueous backgrounds, and speech balloons from Ice Boy and his friends add humorous running commentary. A comical caper with a stealthy dose of basic science concepts.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2017 Booklist

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