Falling Through the Ice

A group brainstorm!

It is full-on WINTER here, with our second major storm coming right on the heels of the first, and everything outside is white with ice and snow.

At the start of Winter each year, I talk with my class about not walking out on the ice of a frozen pond, no matter how thick it looks. Where I grew up (Southern MD) and where I live now (Southern IL), it simply does not get thick enough to stand on. Ever. My father -- who was a firefighter and had lots of emergency training -- gave me a lecture about it every Winter, and now I say the same to my class.

When I talk with them, I always mention that I've read many stories where someone falls through the ice of a frozen pond. But I never can remember the actual books while we are having the chat! So I'd like to compile a list to have at the ready for those future conversations. If you think of one, please let me know the title & author (and chapter name, if it's a chapter book).

This list reminds of the one I did several years ago about the barometer!

Farmer Boy
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
"Filling the Ice-House"

Skating Shoes
by Noel Streatfeild
chap 3, "The Rink"

Little Women *
by Louisa May Alcott
chap 8, "Jo Meets Apollyon"

* FREE at Project Gutenberg

And this is the entire premise behind Frost Hollow Hall by Emma Carroll!

In looking for more books (although Google isn't helpful for things like this), I came across an article (The Story Behind the Story: In Robert Munsch Words) about an Inuit story which became a picture book. Because ice safety is crucial in the Far North, children there are told that there is a monster that lives under the ice, and if they get too close to a hole the monster will grab them. Many of the Amazon reviews are from people who are livid that this book is not at all what they expected from Robert Munsch, so it's good to know in advance that it is a legend from a part of the world that uses frightening stories to keep their little ones from getting hurt.

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