A book I found surprisingly warm and engaging, for all the uber-frosty scenery it conveyed and for how little it and I have in common. It's about two young siblings who live with their family very close to a lake in the far north of Canada. And so when the hard frost and the snows come, they can be first on the scene to the iced-over waters, clear it off, and have it to themselves. Before too long the entire village's youths have descended to join in, and then when they have had enough of a skate a different crowd replaces them – the older kids, who want to play hockey. But even then they admire the labours and attentive audience of our heroes. And the lake? It remains frozen, ready for one more gift at the end of the day.

This is about childhood perfection of a kind (to repeat, a kind I would never recognise from my own life), and about the joys of what is free, outdoors and natural. But it's also about that community spirit – when you have no machinery to make an ice rink you might still have eager kids to do so instead, and you're grateful for them. If you live next to the lake, with the beauty it provides as well as all the amenities it offers, summer or winter, you don't mind working to clear it, for you'll have first dibs on the pristine ice.

On these pages there are no ill competition, no complaint, no kvetching from the kids when called in. There is just love and acceptance, and an unexpected routine everyone follows as regards access to the ice. Some of that then may be lacking in some realism, and I may be over-playing things a touch, but I certainly found this a lot cosier than I'd ever have thought from the summary. The artwork wasn't as great as the text, in my opinion, but it had the wintry, padded-to-the-nines feel of kids well equipped for Canada in the snow. This surprising success is certainly a strong four stars, if not four and a half.

I really liked the idea behind this book.

The illustrations were great and really brought the story to life. The book is focused around a brother and sister and their race to be the first on some frozen ice, the story shows how many people use the ice, from children to bigger kids that arrive to play hockey.

The story is quite simple but it is well written, easy to follow and understand. The story is a lovely one to read in winter and it was a great touch that the brother and sister were also the last ones to go on the ice.

My only issue with the book is that whilst the story is lovely and whilst it may be the natural thing where the author lives for kids to play on ice, we don't encourage it in the UK as there have been quite a few tragedies from this happening.

It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended!

I liked this Nostalgic tale of two siblings ice skating in the beautiful winter setting next to their home. This book gives off a very relaxed and sweet vibe that we can all relate to with our own individual stories growing up. I equally liked the illustrations. Simple but effective.

Many thanks to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

A sweet, adorably illustrated story about two kids who are excited to be the first (and last!) on the ice near their home. We follow them through their chilly day of clearing snow, ice skating, and even watching the bigger kids play hockey on the ice, too.

Be transported to the nostalgia of your favorite classic snow day, from dawn to dusk.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.