The Ice Castle: An Adventure in Music (Paperback)

Description

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The return to Lexicon begins when thirteen-year-old cousins Ivan and Daphne find their Aunt Adelaide deathly ill. Leaving their aunt to rest, Ivan and Daphne accidentally let their younger cousin, Lila, in on their secret world of Lexicon.

Ivan and Daphne must track Lila, who disappears, through the frozen landscape to the Land of Winter where social status and freedom are determined by how well one sings. Fortunately for Lila, her musical talent lands her in the most favorable place. Separated by class now, the cousins face cold, hunger, poverty, illness, injustice, and the malicious plotting of a power-hungry blind man. Slave, servant, and fine lady, the three cousins must escape their own imprisonment before they reunite, provoke a revolution, and restore spring to the Land of Winter.

About the Author

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Pendred (Penny) Noyce is a doctor, education reformer, and writer. She grew up in Silicon Valley, California, surrounded by apricot orchards and fields of mustard. Along with her brother and sisters, she rode ponies, put on plays, and explored the rapidly changing countryside. As an adult, Noyce has practiced internal medicine, supervised medical residents, and become a leader in Massachusetts mathematics and science education reform. She serves on a number of nonprofit boards, including that of the Noyce Foundation, and she chairs the boards of Maine's Libra Foundation and the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy. She loves to give talks to teachers and kids. Noyce is married with five children who all love to read, travel, ski, and seek out adventures. She has yet to visit Australia and Antarctica. She lives in the western suburbs of Boston with the parts of her family that haven't already grown up. Joan Charles lives in Santa Monica, California. As a child she put on plays and puppet shows, wrote and illustrated a family newspaper, and played endless games of Parcheesi with her sisters on rainy summer days. Her favorite thing to do was draw and make up stories, and that's still true today.

Praise For…

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"There are puzzles to solve, traitors to catch, and friendships to forge. This is a well-written, thoughtful fantasy book that addresses issues of equality while providing interesting musical insights. Besides, it’s a great adventure!" Teresa Bateman, Keen Readers

"With exquisite language and a sense of humor, Pendred Noyce deftly creates complex characters and imaginative, yet believable, towns and societies...Ice Castle is a beautiful symphony in which Ivan, Daphne, and Lila face various challenges and come to learn about themselves, one another, and human nature. This beautifully orchestrated book will delight and captivate readers of all ages." Denise LeBlanc, Director of Learning Experiences, The Discovery Museums

"THE ICE CASTLE, the second book in the Lexicon Adventures series, has many necessary ingredients that would entice young readers, i.e. adventure, fantasy, family members who don't get along, social commentary and a unique emphasis on music. Young adults will recognize that it reflects the real world they live in and will be able to see the social implications." Compass Book Ratings, 4 stars

"There are plenty of adventures, and there are great new characters... An attempt to explain musical scale comes closer to clarifying that brutal arcana than anything written since the days of Palestrina. Once again, conversation and cooperation are brazenly encouraged. In the end, our heroes succeed in bringing Lila back to the real’ world, where Aunt Adelaide is recovering from surgery that may give her a chance, and where Aunt Leonora is confronted with a newly confident Lila. The whole thing ends on a wistful, hopeful note and the promise of at least one more adventure in Lexicon." — Open Letters Monthly

Praise for Lost in Lexicon, book one of the Lexicon Adventure Series:
An engaging and original narrative...” School Library Journal

The setup to many a great story...A strange and beautiful world” Parents’ Choice, a Recommended Award Winner

"...This is an adventure story for the digital generation, and Lost in Lexicon breaks new ground in the adventure genre.” ForeWord Reviews

Gold Award Winner, Moms’ Choice
Kid’s Indie Next List Winter 2011
Juvenile Fiction Honorable Mention, ForeWord Reviews 2010 BOTYAs

"With exquisite language and a sense of humor, Pendred Noyce deftly creates complex characters and imaginative, yet believable, towns and societies . . . This beautifully orchestrated book will delight and captivate readers of all ages." Denise LeBlanc, Director of Learning Experiences, The Discovery Museums