Every year a glittering palace made from blocks of ice rises several stories above the wintry landscape of Saranac Lake, New York. The workers who build the palace, which is the centerpiece of the annual winter carnival, come from the village and from a nearby prison, Camp Gabriels. Inspired by this real-life event and told in the voice of a young girl who lives nearby, the account of the preparation and creation of the palace and of the festive days that follow gains special poignancy from the fact that the narrator's uncle is among the prisoners on the construction crew. Ted Rand's vibrant watercolors join Deborah Blumenthal's sensitively written text in a unique tribute to a century-old tradition and the community spirit that warms winter's iciest days.