Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature)
When Little Ciff learns about the far north, he wants nothing more than to go there and experience the cold. When he looks at it on the teacher's classroom map, it doesn't look very far away. He figures that he and Poppa can probably drive there. Cliff lives in the deep South with his great grandparents. His Poppa lets him know that the Arctic is very far away and it is not a place that people drive to. When Little Cliff burst into tears with disappointment Pappa remembers that he served in the Navy with a fellow who spent some time in Alaska. They paid a visit to Mr Jacob and he provided Little Cliff with a vicarious adventure by showing him his scrapbook with pictures from the Arctic and even let Little Cliff try on his fur lined coat. The adventure is not over yet, because Poppa takes Little Cliff to the icehouse, a really cold place, and he even has the small parka for Cliff to wear. The picture of them sitting on a quilt on blocks of ice and fishing in a bucket is great. Little Cliff is one lucky kid; and he learned a lot in this experience especially about geography and the relative sizes of maps and the real world. E. B. Lewis has created a loving family with a warm relationship, which act as a great foil to Little Cliff's search for a cold place. 2002, Dial/Penguin Putnam, $16.99. Ages 4 to 7.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2002 (Vol. 70, No. 15))
In 1950s Glen Allan, Mississippi, Little Cliff is introduced to the wider world by a map and an enthusiastic teacher. When she tells her students about Alaska, Cliff is enthralled. He's also absolutely convinced that he and Poppa Joe can drive there easily. After all, he could trace the distance on the map with his fingers. When Poppa Joe convinces Cliff that Alaska is really too far for a drive, he finds a way to console him and to bring Alaska to him. An old friend shows them pictures from his Navy days in Alaska and lends him a fur-trimmed parka. Another old friend gives them access to an icehouse that Poppa Joe turns into an Alaskan experience complete with ice fishing. Little Cliff is a delightful, inquisitive child surrounded by the warmth and love of a remarkable multigenerational family-Poppa Joe and Mama Pearl are his great-grandparents. Friendships are long term and colorblind. Cliff's family and Brother Cleve, the icehouse owner, are African-American and Mr. Jacob is white and Jewish. Lewis's illustrations are full of light and joy. They perfectly capture each character and beautifully complement the text. This is Taulbert's third Little Cliff offering (Little Cliff Goes to School, 2001; Little Cliff and the Porch People, 1999), each based on a childhood memory. It's to be hoped there will be many more to come. 2002, Dial, $16.99. Category: Picture book. Ages 5 to 9. © 2002 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2003)
Little Cliff is obsessed with going to "the cold place" he learns about in school. He wants to meet children who live in snow houses, ice fish, and ride dog sleds. Grandpa's clever solution gives Cliff a cold day experience that he can share with his classmates. Lewis's watercolor illustrations add light and playfulness to this story of a young boy's thirst for learning. Category: Picture Books. 2002, Dial, 32pp, $16.99. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.