Spirit Animals: Book 4: Fire and Ice

My mother always said, "If you can't say something nice. You shouldn't say anything at all." But as a writer myself I find it hard not to say something. It is not clear to me as to who is behind these books and in general I have to say that my kids have enjoyed them for the over all story. But that being said, I must protest the age rating given to this book, 8-12 years of age. In the first chapter the author goes into a very detailed and real description of a giant cobra eating a human victim. This is not material for a 8 to 12 year old. We pushed through and started the 2nd chapter. In general the story arch and character are portrayed well. But, I have struggled with grammar all my life and work very hard to insure that what I write is as close to perfect as I can make it. I do this, because if I didn't, my readers would never pick up another book of mine to read. But, a children's author needs to pay attention to grammar because we want our child to grow up with good reading, writing, and speaking skills. We will finish this story, but the next author needs to spend some time using a grammar program or a better editor. Of the three earlier books that we have already read, two of them did not fair much better grammatically than this one.

Honestly, this book series is not without error, but it is very captivating and brings a really intriguing plot. Overall I give this book a five star rating for being one of the best collaborative series I have ever read.

Title: Fire and Ice - Spirit Animals Book 4
Author: Shannon Hale
Published: 6-24-14
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Pages: 193
Genre: Children's Fiction
Sub Genre: Action & Adventure; Fantasy & Magic; Animals
ISBN: 9780545522465
ASIN: B00HG1ND1O
Reviewer: DelAnne
Reviewed For: NetGalley
My Rating: 5 Stars

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Conner, Meilin, Abeke and Rollan, continue to travel the different lands of Erdas searching for the four talismans of the Four Fallen Beast (Briggan the Wolf, Uraza the Leopard, Jhi the Panda, and Essix the Falcon). They were the most powerful beings of their time who sacrificed everything to save Erdas from an evil King. It is believed that with the four talismans they will have the magical power to defeat the Conquerors.

In book four the Greencloaks travel to the frozen arctic lands, in search of Suka, the polar bear talisman. They travel and meet some new people, both good and bad. The problem is telling them apart. Jhi and Meilin show signs of a budding romance. Abeke does not fare well in this frozen land. Rollan makes a wondrous find only to have its loss bring him pain and uncertainty in who he can trust. There is a lot of action in this story done at a fast pace to keep readers involved. Please remember this is not a stand-alone book and should be read in order so that the reader does not become lost and confused by the events referred to in the book.

This book is another great addition to the series and I look forward to book 5, Against The Tide. My rating is 5 out of stars.

Title: Fire and Ice - Spirit Animals Book 4
Author: Shannon Hale
Published: 6-24-14
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Pages: 193
Genre: Children's Fiction
Sub Genre: Action & Adventure; Fantasy & Magic; Animals
ISBN: 9780545522465
ASIN: B00HG1ND1O
Reviewer: DelAnne
Reviewed For: NetGalley
My Rating: 5 Stars

.
Conner, Meilin, Abeke and Rollan, continue to travel the different lands of Erdas searching for the four talismans of the Four Fallen Beast (Briggan the Wolf, Uraza the Leopard, Jhi the Panda, and Essix the Falcon). They were the most powerful beings of their time who sacrificed everything to save Erdas from an evil King. It is believed that with the four talismans they will have the magical power to defeat the Conquerors.

In book four the Greencloaks travel to the frozen arctic lands, in search of Suka, the polar bear talisman. They travel and meet some new people, both good and bad. The problem is telling them apart. Jhi and Meilin show signs of a budding romance. Abeke does not fare well in this frozen land. Rollan makes a wondrous find only to have its loss bring him pain and uncertainty in who he can trust. There is a lot of action in this story done at a fast pace to keep readers involved. Please remember this is not a stand-alone book and should be read in order so that the reader does not become lost and confused by the events referred to in the book.

This book is another great addition to the series and I look forward to book 5, Against The Tide. My rating is 5 out of stars.

Wonderful book. Brandon Mull started off the series well with book 1; book 2 was good; book 3 was painful to read and the authors slaughtered descriptions with contradictory wording and story telling; Shannon Hale is a wonderful author and restored credit to the series.

Many of the books we read as children provide life skills we use later on in life, even the fun fantasy books we read. Unfortunately if a book teaches a bad life skill, it may take us a while to overcome that miss-education. Thus one disappointment in the book. At one point one of the characters gets severe frost bite (noted by the black skin) and the remedy used in the book is to rub the area to restore the affected area to good health. This is bad and wrong (both EMT basic and basic wilderness first aid teach this as wrong). Wiki Answers has a simple explanation of why it is wrong [...]. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) states that rubbing "can cause permanent damage" [...]. Wilderness and Environmental Medicine has an in-depth discussion of appropriate treatments for frostbite: none of them rubbing the affected area [...].

Beyond the brief mention of frostbite in the book, enjoyed the book and found it a great read. Looking forward to book 5.

The Greencloaks set out on another journey for another talisman. However, the Conquerors aren't that far behind. It almost seems as though one of their own is working in cahoots with one of the Devourer's followers. It just doesn't seem fair. There are more conquerors than there are Greencloaks. Although there is a fire raging in Meilin's heart after the loss of her father, 5 to several is just a disadvantage. Someone is bound to get hurt or killed. However, they did acquire a new member (not new, but new to Meilin, Abeke, Conor, and Rollan)- Maya. Maya's spirit animal is a salamander. Although it seems useless, it brings warmth, and fire. Now is as good a time as any to bring on the fire, when they are headed to Arctica in search of the Crystal Polar Bear talisman.

On their journey, it seems as though no one wants them to find this talisman for their own ulterior motives. For instance, the first place they stopped was Samis, where they met a woman named Pia who they "thought" was helpful in giving them a compass when they distracted the Conquerors for a short period of time. Then after a cumbersome journey, where Abeke almost lost her toes to frostbite, they met the Ardu people in Arctica. They too were, nice until the mention of- Suka. Everyone appeared unfriendly at the mention of looking for Suka- here and back in Samis.

Yes, the Greencloaks, made it far ahead of the Conqueror's and got a head start. However, their journey was full of adventure. Rollan was faced with a difficult choice. Why did they leave Samis earlier than intended? Who is Aidana? What happens on their journey across the snowy desert? Where is Suka hidden? Is it beyond their reach? Is the battle over after they have obtained the talisman, and they are headed back to Greenhaven, or are they to face more danger? What lies ahead?

If you read the last three books, and you enjoyed them, although they are juvenile, or you are the right age (in my opinion 3rd to 5th grade, but I'm a mom of two), which to me is any age from 1 to 99, then my opinion is read this book next. Furthermore, when you are done, scholastic has a game that you can play. There is a code at the end of the book. Help the Greencloaks in their battle against the Conquerors and pick your OWN spirit animal! ENJOY! Happy Reading!

Very exciting. I love this book. Very descriptive and somewhat sad, but still an amazing book to read. Highly recommended. (This review was written by my 10-year-old son, who for obvious reasons doesn't have his own account.)

My daughter loves these series. Got a good deal on price with the HOLIDAY coupon. I had to return this and I was issued an instant refund. Nothing wrong with the book. It was a Christmas gift but my daughter couldn't wait and so she borrowed the book from her school library and had already started reading the book. So I asked for a refund and I was really happy with the seller.

This book is about Rollan, Abeke, Connor, and Meilin finding the next talisman, the crystal polar bear. They had to travel through the frozen land of arctica to find the polar bear, Suka. She is trapped in a block of ........... ice. Along the way, they meet the Ardu, the tribe living on the frozen region of arctica. Will they get the polar bear, or will it fall in the hands of the evil conquerors? Read to find out!!!