Ice

by Arthur Geisert (Created by)

Overview

A gorgeously rendered wordless tale of discovery and adventure that is meticulous in architectural detail and bursts with inventiveness. Arthur Geisert's ingenuity engages the child's imagination as well as the adult's through seamless storytelling and zany wit. Invested as always in his porcine universe, here Geisert tells the story of a community of pigs that is suffering from the heat. Rather than be sapped of energy and miserable, they go on an adventure in search of ice. The pigs' inventiveness and great can-do spirit create a joyful tale of change and adventure. The illustrations bring the action to life, making this a real page-turner and a great read-aloud book!

Arthur Geisert's pigs are legendary in the world of children's books. They carve ice sculptures, teach Roman numerals, create ingenious machines and get up to all kinds of antics. Did Arthur grow up on a farm? No. He grew up in Los Angeles and claims not to have seen a pig until he was an adult. Trained as a sculptor in college, Geisert learned to etch at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Geisert has published just about a book a year for the past thirty years, and every one of his books has been illustrated with etchings. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and the Horn Book Magazine, and he has won The New York Times' Best Illustrated Award. A resident of Galena, a community in northwest Illinois, for decades, he now lives in a converted bank building in Bernard, Iowa.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592700981
Publisher:	Enchanted Lion Books
Publication date:	03/29/2011
Series:	Stories Without Words Series
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.30(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Award-winning children's book author Arthur Geisert's pigs are legendary in the world of children's books. They carve ice sculptures, teach Roman numerals, create ingenious machines and get up to all kinds of antics. Did Arthur grow up on a farm? No. He grew up in LA and claims not to have seen a pig until he was an adult. Trained as a sculptor in college, Geisert learned to etch at the Otis Art Institute in LA. Geisert has published just about a book a year for the past 30 years and every one of his books has been illustrated with etchings. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and the Horn Book magazine, and he has won the New York Time's Best Illustrated Award. A resident of Galena, a community in northwest Illinois, for decades, he currently lives in a converted bank building in Bernard, Iowa.

Editorial Reviews

Geisert's (Oops) resourceful pig families are back, and the exaggerated landscape format of this volume allows Geisert an expansive stage for this wordless adventure. This particular group of pigs lives in wooden shelters on a desert island, shaded from the punishing sun by tarps. With their water supply running low, the pigs gather around a table at night and consult a globe; then, in the story's most ravishing sequence, they launch their balloon-powered air-schooner—sails billowing, pennants flying—for the seas east of Greenland. But what is the long, mysterious parcel tied underneath it? It's a sail to guide a gigantic iceberg back, towed behind the air-schooner. Carved up into blocks, the iceberg replenishes their well and provides air conditioning, too. This is an especially satisfying Geisert title, because the task is essential for the pigs' survival and they carry it off with such élan. And the air-schooner, a charming marriage of sailing and balloon technology, is a standout among Geisert's many contraptions. Nominee for best spread: the ship under sail, towing the iceberg, in silhouette against the full moon. Ages 4–7. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"As much fun as it is to burrow oneself in the odd little world of Geisert's meticulously etched and colored artwork, the great opening here is to wonder what's happening between and outside the pages. Why are the pigs on the island anyway? How did they get such a fantastic flying ship? How often do they go iceberg hunting? What other amazing adventures await them? A golden opportunity to interact creatively with children and get those young imaginations firing. " - Ian Chipman, Booklist

"Although these pigs demonstrate the wondrous resourcefulness that Geisert fans have come to expect, it’s their surreal setting that steals the show. This title is as much about big questions as small details, and the audience is compelled to ponder and create a backstory that can account for the community’s predicament and its quirky resolution." - Elizabeth Bush, The Center for Children's Books

"I can't tell you how many times I've flipped through this book. The illustrations are so full of detail that you can open the book to any page and spend a good while just taking it all in. [...] If you like to point out the lessons found in kid books, you could talk about how the pigs work together to solve their problem, how to nourish collaborative creativity like the pigs did in their brainstorming session or even how the pigs had to adapt to their changing environment, something we all have to do at some point in life. And there are always the simple lessons, too: sharing, dreaming and caring about your fellow pig (or human)." - Kim Mills, News-Records.com, Greensboro, NC

"Share this book with a child who loves looking closely. Or even better, curl up together and share some time with ice, invention and imagination." - Tasha Saecker, wakingbraincells.com

"The detailed and enchanting illustrations in mostly muted colors effectively reveal the inventiveness and the emotions of the pigs as they struggle through the heat, diligently build their their flying boat, work together to use the ice creatively and celebrate their success.

One of the joys of this wordless picture book is that at each reading, the reader notices something new in the pictures and so spins a tale that is slightly different to the one told before. Ice is a beautiful story that will delight and spark the imagination of any reader. Highly recommended." - Maya Fleischmann, for curledupkids.com

"Ths is an especially satisfying Geisert title...And the air-schooner, a charming marriage of sailing and balloon technology, is a standout among Geisert's many contraptions." -Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review

"As always, the pictorial work will appeal to a wide age range. this book can be enjoyed alone r shared in a side-by-side setting." -Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

"Children will love tracking the imaginative detail of each colored illustration..."ICE" is a pleasure for all ages, and proves that the most fascinating of tales need not a single word to be told." -The Midwest Book Review

"Definitely one for my "Wordless Picture Books" tub, and I know just the English Language Learner that I'll hand it to first thing in the morning!" -Mary Lee, A Year of Reading

"A simple, pitch-perfect story that will serve to get the imaginative juices flowing. The year is young, but Ice will likely be a 2011 standout." -100scopenotes.com

Best Illustrated Children's Book AwardsThe New York Times Book Review

"As much fun as it is to burrow oneself in the odd little world of Geisert's meticulously etched and colored artwork, the great opening here is to wonder what's happening between and outside the pages. Why are the pigs on the island anyway? How did they get such a fantastic flying ship? How often do they go iceberg hunting? What other amazing adventures await them? A golden opportunity to interact creatively with children and get those young imaginations firing. " - Ian Chipman, Booklist

"Although these pigs demonstrate the wondrous resourcefulness that Geisert fans have come to expect, it’s their surreal setting that steals the show. This title is as much about big questions as small details, and the audience is compelled to ponder and create a backstory that can account for the community’s predicament and its quirky resolution." - Elizabeth Bush, The Center for Children's Books

"I can't tell you how many times I've flipped through this book. The illustrations are so full of detail that you can open the book to any page and spend a good while just taking it all in. [...] If you like to point out the lessons found in kid books, you could talk about how the pigs work together to solve their problem, how to nourish collaborative creativity like the pigs did in their brainstorming session or even how the pigs had to adapt to their changing environment, something we all have to do at some point in life. And there are always the simple lessons, too: sharing, dreaming and caring about your fellow pig (or human)." - Kim Mills, News-Records.com, Greensboro, NC

"Share this book with a child who loves looking closely. Or even better, curl up together and share some time with ice, invention and imagination." - Tasha Saecker, wakingbraincells.com

"The detailed and enchanting illustrations in mostly muted colors effectively reveal the inventiveness and the emotions of the pigs as they struggle through the heat, diligently build their their flying boat, work together to use the ice creatively and celebrate their success.

One of the joys of this wordless picture book is that at each reading, the reader notices something new in the pictures and so spins a tale that is slightly different to the one told before. Ice is a beautiful story that will delight and spark the imagination of any reader. Highly recommended." - Maya Fleischmann, for curledupkids.com

"Ths is an especially satisfying Geisert title...And the air-schooner, a charming marriage of sailing and balloon technology, is a standout among Geisert's many contraptions." -Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review

"As always, the pictorial work will appeal to a wide age range. this book can be enjoyed alone r shared in a side-by-side setting." -Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

"Children will love tracking the imaginative detail of each colored illustration..."ICE" is a pleasure for all ages, and proves that the most fascinating of tales need not a single word to be told." -The Midwest Book Review

"Definitely one for my "Wordless Picture Books" tub, and I know just the English Language Learner that I'll hand it to first thing in the morning!" -Mary Lee, A Year of Reading

"A simple, pitch-perfect story that will serve to get the imaginative juices flowing. The year is young, but Ice will likely be a 2011 standout." -100scopenotes.com

Best Illustrated Children's Book AwardsThe New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher

K-Gr 6—As they sit around a table looking at a globe, with empty glasses in front of them, the adventuresome pigs solve the problem of hot weather and warm drinks. They cleverly plan and execute a voyage in a flying ship to bring an iceberg to their sun-drenched island. The ice serves many purposes as it gets smaller and smaller, from a swimming pool to providing a cool breeze from a fan, to ice cubes in glasses as they sit around the same table at the end. As always, the story is told entirely through detailed etchings. The wordless format gives readers the opportunity to see the plot while focusing on small details that make the story new with each reading. The familiar long, narrowly proportioned pages move the eye from left to right and on to the next page. Geisert's intricate style lends itself well to depicting the pigs' mechanical creativity, working like a blueprint. As always, the pictorial work will appeal to a wide age range. This book can be enjoyed alone or shared in a side-by-side setting.—Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH

School Library Journal

A heat wave compels an industrious community of island piggies to build a giant ship, complete with masts and rigging, and voyage to retrieve an Arctic iceberg and cool off. Why is this wooden boat airborne, tethered to an enormous balloon? Welcome to Geisert's peculiar porcine province! This wordless picture book, full of intricate color etchings, invites readers to loosen up and enjoy a story that makes no sense at all. Some will immediately giggle (clothed pigs frolicking in a pool of iceberg ice-cubes! Ha!), savor myriad quirky details (check out the pigs' funky angular houses—with skylights!) and expand upon Geisert's unfettered imagination (how did they get on that little sandy island? a shipwreck?). Many young readers might find the whole foray too inexplicable, too weird and offering too little action. Pigs set up a fan in front of the Arctic ice cube to get some AC at the end...great. Others will simply connect happily with the cheerful can-do attitude of the pigs—whether or not it makes any sense, the last image, of a large pig family enjoying ice water as a cool breeze blows in, two little piggies barely visible under the table, charms. Geisert's meticulous illustrations won't amuse everyone, but they certainly conjure a fully realized piggy world—an island at home with itself, floating way out there in the ocean. (Picture book. 4-10)

Kirkus Reviews

Geisert's intricate etchings capture the ingenuity and gumption of his silent characters, their facial expressions optimistic and calmly genial throughout, as they transport and carve up an iceberg…Readers will enjoy uncovering the details of the pigs' contraptions and machinations as they convert the ice into potable water or and use it in cooling systems.
—The New York Times

Pamela Paul