Hilda and Twig: Wake the Ice Man

Pearson's charming prequel series to his popular Hildafolk stories follows a younger Hilda and her beloved deerfox, Twig. But in a delightful twist, it's Twig who has thrilling adventures with fantastical creatures. In this second series installment, Hilda's disappointed when the day full of snowy adventures she had planned with her friend Burku doesn't go how she expected, so Twig takes it upon himself to find the Ice Man, who brings cold and snow when he wakes up in the winter. Only, Twig didn't anticipate just how effective the Ice Man could be: Hilda and her mom get perilously snowed in, and now Twig has to figure out how to get the Ice Man back to sleep. As usual, Pearson's art is fantastic, with imaginative world building, lush colors, cinematic action, and lots of emotional expressiveness in his characters' body language and faces. Larger panel sizes and a simplified plot will make this particularly enjoyable for newly independent readers, and the gentle message about handling big emotions is nicely pitched to the target age group. -- Sarah Hunter * Booklist Review *
Wake the Ice Man is the second in Luke Pearson's new series of books about his child hero Hilda, who lives in a small cottage in the middle of the Scandinavian countryside with her mother. As seen in Hide from the Rain, Hilda's pet Twig is a very unusual creature, a 'deerfox': a doglike creature with a large tail like a fox, and tiny antlers on his head. [...] when Twig decides to try and help that happen, he wakes up the Ice Man, the spirit who brings an early winter. But when the snow starts piling up far beyond what anyone can handle, how can he get the Ice Man to go back to sleep again? Anyone who enjoyed the previous book will love this one too, with a satisfying conclusion that will be a big relief to children wondering how Twig will solve this problem. -- Woodrow Phoenix * Slings and Arrows Comics and Graphic Novel Guide *
Expect snow-filled chaos as Twig tries to save the day for both Hilda and her friendship with Burku. An icy and enchanting tale from our favourite Trolberg duo, perfect to curl up with through-out winter. * SHELF Magazine *