Earnest and potentially successful, but just misses the mark. The final resolution is not entirely believable, but the emphasis on cooperation and understanding is clear. Indeed, a bit more subtlety in characterization might have strengthened the book’s appeal. The plot rolls along smoothly and readers will be able to both follow the action and feel superior to both main characters as their motivations and misconceptions are clearly displayed. Rivalry and misunderstandings grow as the two compete to earn the most money in the waning days of summer. Evan believes himself to be less than clever Jessie’s emotional maturity doesn’t quite measure up to her intelligence. But the news that bright Jessie will be skipping a grade to join Evan’s fourth-grade class creates tension. Jessie and Evan are usually good friends as well as sister and brother. Unfortunately, the length makes it less likely to appeal to the intended audience. Told from the point of view of two warring siblings, this could have been an engaging first chapter book.

It works because Gardner anchors everything warmly in Storm, who’s wonderfully genuine and full of resourcefulness. The sisters’ story is a fairy tale itself, yet Rapunzel, Hansel & Gretel and The Pied Piper are also old books that characters read.

Grey’s black-and-white drawings perfectly complement Gardner’s playful textual winks-both honor a cornucopia of archetypal tales, blatantly and subtly. Frantically escaping, the sisters scramble through woods, enchanted towns, a candy-house orphanage, cottages, castles, ice fields and a mountain of slavery. DeWilde comes seeking the small magical pipe that mother bequeathed to Storm. The three sisters are a sweet household until lupine Dr. Mother dies giving birth to verbally precocious baby Anything, and father wanders away in grief. Storm, champion maker of fireworks, and older sister Aurora, housekeeper extraordinaire and baker of madeleines, watch their useless parents disappear quickly (natch).

Bursting with flavor and good humor, this single long, lovely fairy tale bows to an abundance of classic tales while keeping everything fresh.

Ice by lyn gardner