Anna & Elsa: The Arendelle Cup by Erica David

The sixth book in the Anna & Elsa series tells the story of the Arendelle Cup- a sleigh race that Anna and Elsa will compete in for the first time. They have been practicing for months and want to be taken seriously as competitors. At the welcome ball before the race, Elsa dances with a competitor from Weselton who expresses that he is more interested in winning the race than being friends with Elsa.

All of the other teams in the competition have been friendly and kind to the sisters. On the first day of the race, Elsa and Anna- with the help of Sven- speed to catch up with team Weselton. As they approach, one of the men from team Wesleton throws snow into Anna and Elsa’s faces. When they are able to see again, team Wesleton has disappeared.

After making camp that night, another team approaches the sisters and tells them that they are worried about an avalanche. They believe the fastest path will be too dangerous for the race, and they are willing to show all of the racers a safer way in the morning. The next morning all of the teams meet for the new route, except team Wesleton, whose tracks are leading to the faster, more dangerous path.

The remaining teams decide they will all travel together to get team Wesleton to safety. As they are making their way, an avalanche starts. Elsa uses her magic powers to build a shelter out of ice to protect everyone from the pounding snow. After Elsa digs them out from beneath, one of the teams falls into a hole made by the avalanche. By using teamwork, the others teams are able to pull them up to safety.

Finally, one of the team’s sled dogs picks up on a scent- and they follow her to a spot in the snow where it sounds like creaking wood. Elsa again uses her powers to clear the snow away quickly to see if team Wesleton is buried below. After again using teamwork, team Wesleton is rescued from beneath their frozen sled.

Team Wesleton is very thankful and apologetic that they were more concerned with winning than making friends with the other competitors. After accepting their apology, the other teams decide they will all cross the finish line at the same time- so everyone wins.

This Anna and Elsa book is a tame read. Nothing scary and hardly intense, it can be read aloud to most ages. However, out of the 10 chapters, only twice did my girls say, “Read another chapter please!”. It’s not the most exciting read ever. In a junior novel, there just isn’t enough time to develop an attachment to 5 different racing teams, which the author attempts to do.

I do like the theme that is returned to several times throughout the book: some things are more important than winning. The sisters model examples of this throughout the book, and overall I do like the message it is trying to convey. Also, magic is a part of this book because of Elsa’s snow powers.

Language: The word “hate” is used, in context “I hate being underestimated.” Also, Anna talks about “luck” a couple of times. I also believe there is an accidental omission of part of a sentence going from page 37 to page 39. (Page 38 is an illustration.)

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1. What is the most important thing Anna and Elsa learned during the race?
2. How did their actions show what they learned?
3. When is it hard to remember that winning isn’t as important as other things?