Hockey Book Reviews.com

Are you looking for a good children's book which you will enjoy as much as your child? Z is for Zamboni: A Hockey Alphabet , written by Matt Napier and illustrated by Melanie Rose, is a an excellent choice. Published by Sleeping Bear Press , the book obviously devotes a hockey theme to each letter of the alphabet. The book is not traditional in the sense that it's purpose is not necessarily to teach the alphabet. While each letter is displayed in both upper and lower case, it is done in a most understated way. Rather than the alphabet it is hockey that definitely takes center stage. The brilliant illustrations are eye catching and elegant. Napier's writing compliments Rose's drawings nicely. Napier, son of former NHL star Mark Napier, writes a catchy 4 line poem that is fun for kids to read along to. Much to the delight of the parent, the content of the poem is featured with some educational text in the sidebars. This information often allows for parents ...

Following their successful 2002 release Z is for Zamboni: A Hockey Alphabet , author Mark Napier and illustrator Melanie Rose returned in 2005 wtih Hat Tricks Count: A Hockey Number Book . While Zamboni looked at the alphabet, Hat Trick looks at the numbers 1 through 12, 15, 20, 21, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100, with 99, obviously, also getting special mention. I am not quite sure for the reasoning behind picking the particular numbers that they did, but regardless it all adds up to 1 great book. Like Zamboni , this book's primary focus does not appear to be teaching numbers so much as hockey. The numbers are understated in comparison to Melanie Rose's continued great art work. Most of Napier's sidebar text, which is often historical in nature, has more to do with hockey than numbers. Still, I see this is another solid offering from Napier, Rose and Sleeping Bear Press . A parent and a child can enjoy this book together. Perhaps they will enjoy it...

The visual puzzle book I Spy with My Little Eye Hockey , written by Matt Napier with the photography of David Milne, is a fun book that all members of the family will enjoy. You will undoubtedly find this book in the children's section of your favorite book store or library. That being said, parents will enjoy doing these puzzles with the help of youngsters. I Spy is a collection of look-alike photographs filled with hockey treasures such as masks, sticks, pucks, trading cards, jerseys, trophies, and so much more. Each seemingly identical photograph is actually quite different. There are many subtle alterations from one photo to the next, and it is the reader's, I mean spyers', job to identify all the changes. My first thought was this is really cool, but it's not really I Spy. But hey who cares! This book is fun, visually stunning, and informative. Milne's rich photography is a real treat. Napier, the son of former NHL star Mark Napier, provides a sh...

Black And Gold Black Ice Canada On Ice Dominant Dany Heatley Don Cherry's Stories and Stuff Good, Bad, Ugly: Rangers Good, Bad, Ugly: Flyers Habs Heroes Hockey Now! Hockey's Top 100 Honoured Canadiens Ice It Down Ice Warriors Legendary Stanley Cup Stories Meaning Of Puck Montreal: 100 Years Of Glory My Greatest Day Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems NHL Guide & Record Book Official NHL Hockey Treasures Open Ice Patrick Roy Reflections 2008 Road To Hockeytown St. Michael's College Saving Face Slap Shot Original Shooting From The Lip Then Perreault Said To Rico Unbeatable Martin Brodeur Ultimate Book Of Hockey Lists Win, Tie or Wrangle 100 Great Cdn Sports Moments Also See 2008 Paperback Releases 2008 Hockey Books For Kids Bargain Books at Chapters 2008 DVD Releases

One of the top selling books so far this season is Honoured Canadiens . It is a truly beautiful book, and it hints that it has a companion website http://www.honouredcanadiens.com . The site has largely remained dormant, almost as if the marketing team never really did figure out how to best utilize the companion website. The site now hosts a contest entry form for one heck of a grand prize: Trip for two to Montreal, two nights accommodation, 2 tickets to a Canadiens game, either against the Devils or Leafs, a VIP evening at the Bell Centre, including dinner for two, a tour of the Bell Centre, and the chance to meet a Habs' Hall of Famer! Now that is a grand prize! Hall of Fame autographed copies of the book serve as secondary prizes. So check out http://www.honouredcanadiens.com for your chance to win!

Many think the 1970s cult classic movie Slap Shot is as synonymous with hockey as Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and hockey fights. It is mandatory viewing for any hockey fan. And many fans have, since, believe it or not, Slap Shot is the second most rented movie ever. Slap Shot looked at the rough and tumble world of minor league hockey in unforgettable fashion, often using an explosive cocktail of glorified violence and crazy humour. The adventures and hijinks of the Charlestown Chiefs has spun off two sequels, Breaking the Ice in 2002, and Slap Shot 3: The Junior League , just released directly to DVD. The original Slap Shot starred none other than the late Paul Newman as the foul-mouthed coach, but the stars of the show became The Hanson Brothers. The lovable, entertaining, violent, and bespectacled Hansons were loosely based on three actual hockey playing brothers - Steve, Jeff and Jack Carlson. Jeff and Steve actually play Jeff and Steve Hanson in the movie. Jack Carlson could n...

Author Paul Wieland and Triumph books offers one of the more interesting titles of the 2008 hockey book season, especially if you are a fan of the Buffalo Sabres. Then Perreault Said To Rico... The Best Buffalo Sabres Stories Ever Told is a 200-plus page collection of the many interesting and humorous stories, many behind the scenes, about the Buffalo Sabres and some of their famous (or in some cases infamous) players and coaches. There's that infamous Fog Game. Jim Lorentz's slaying of a bat. Gilbert Perreault and the Wheel of Fortune. The fictional Tara Tsujimoto of the Tokyo Katanas. Mike Foligno's emphatic jump. The Donut King's tragic death. Oh, and two little known Sabres known as Eddie Iceberg and the Turtle. And, of course, lots and lots of stories of practical jokes, hijinks and drinking exploits. The book is full of rollicking stories that will leave you telling all your friends about the latest entry you've read. The book also serves as historical compen...

Alright, let's get down to business. There's two new books I want to talk about today, both from Triumph Books . They are identical in approach, layout and more or less cover image. And, with a little success at the cash register this season, I think we can expect future editions featuring different teams. The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly series looks at the great, the not so great, and the downright odd moments and people in a franchise's history. Triumph Books has had success with this series in football, basketball and baseball titles, and is now directing this ship to the frozen waters of the NHL. To kick off the series here in 2008 they asked Newsday's award winning beat writer Steve Zipay to write The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: New York Rangers . Meanwhile Adam Kimelman, a deputy managing editor of NHL.com , was put in charge of writing The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: Philadelphia Flyers . Assuming you are a fan of either team, you will enjoy this book. ...

We are starting to see the future of blogging in hockey. Organizations like SB Nation, AOL Fanhouse and even The Hockey News are now offering prime writing opportunities to the top blog writers out there. The best part is these passionate bloggers are now seeing a paycheck, and that is long, long overdue. A few of my regular readers have expressed surprise that I have not joined one of these organizations. There is a simple explanation really. GreatestHockeyLegends.com and HockeyBookReviews.com are very unique blogs, not concentrating on any one team. As a result, my work does not fit into the cookie cutter world of the corporate blogosphere. So for now I will remain defiantly independent. I try to encourage my readers to make their online purchases at Amazon or chapters.indigo.ca via my various links. Aside from Google Ads, the bookstore affiliation is my only real source of off-setting costs associated with the websites. So if you enjoy the sites and are planning on buying som...

Canada Reads has announced its list of books and panelists for the upcoming competition in 2009. Canada Reads is a CBC radio annual contest where they determine one book each year that every Canadian supposedly will enjoy. In 2008, a hockey book, of sorts, won. Paul Quarrington's King Leary , defended in the competition by hockey writer/musician Dave Bidini, is a novel about a legendary retired ice hockey player living in a nursing home. The novel replays his life in flash backs as he journeys to Toronto to record a ginger ale commercial. Past winners include Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill, A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews, Rockbound by Frank Parker Day, The Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe, Next Episode by Jean-Louis Major, In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Odaatje. Quarrington's book was the first hockey book ever nominated in 7 years of this competition. No hockey books were nominated for the 2009 competition. Instead, we will find a winne...

This autumn Firefly Books and Mike Leonetti returned with the fifth edition of the annual book Hockey Now! To celebrate the 5th anniversary, Firefly Books is giving away 5 copies of Hockey Now! exclusively to the readers of Hockey Book Reviews.com . Here's what you have to do to win. Email me with your choice of who is the best player in hockey now. Not the best player of the past, not the best player of the future, but who you believe is the best player right now. Is it Alexader Ovechkin? Sidney Crosby? Roberto Luongo? Alexander Semin? Jarome Iginla? Henrik Zetterberg? Nicklas Lidstrom? All entries will be put into a draw, with 5 lucky winners chosen completely at random! Good luck, and good hockey!

This week only at Amazon.ca you can save 50% off of all the titles featured in the Globe & Mail Bestsellers list. This list includes two hockey books: Don Cherry's Hockey Stories and Stuff , now just $15, and Honoured Canadiens , now just 22.50. This week only! With free shipping for orders of $39.

Black And Gold Black Ice Canada On Ice Don Cherry's Stories and Stuff Good, Bad, Ugly: Rangers Good, Bad, Ugly: Flyers Habs Heroes Hockey Now! Hockey's Top 100 Honoured Canadiens Ice Warriors Meaning Of Puck Montreal: 100 Years Of Glory My Greatest Day Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems NHL Guide & Record Book Official NHL Hockey Treasures Open Ice Patrick Roy Reflections 2008 Road To Hockeytown St. Michael's College Saving Face Slap Shot Original Shooting From The Lip Then Perreault Said To Rico Unbeatable Martin Brodeur Ultimate Book Of Hockey Lists 100 Great Cdn Sports Moments Also See 2008 Paperback Releases 2008 Hockey Books For Kids Bargain Books at Chapters 2008 DVD Releases

HB Fenn has been one of the most cooperative publishers I've had the pleasure of dealing with here at HockeyBookReviews.com That's why I wanted to make sure you knew about the following four hockey titles. I'm still waiting on review copies, and I should have them by next week. That might be a little late for you, the online shopper, so I wanted to make sure that you were aware of the following HB Fenn titles: The China Wall: The Timeless Legend of Johnny Bower By Johnny Bower and Bob Duff. As a youngster, Johnny Bowers father told him if he worked hard every day and put passion into his profession, it would pay off in the long run. It was good advice, especially the part about the long run. Bower toiled in hockeys minor leagues for more than a decade, waiting for his chance at the big leagues and it wasnt until he was 33, an age when most players are winding down their careers, that he finally debuted in the NHL. Expected to be a stop-gap measure for the Toronto Maple Le...

This week only at Amazon.ca you can save 50% off of all the titles featured in the Globe & Mail Bestsellers list. This list includes two hockey books: Don Cherry's Hockey Stories and Stuff , now just $15, and Honoured Canadiens , now just 22.50. Treat yourself to another title, because orders over $39 have free shipping! Here's all the Globe & Mail Bestsellers links: Hardcover Fiction Paperback Fiction Hardcover Non-Fiction Paperback Non-Fiction

Now available at Chapters.ca bargain books section is 2006's smash hit Searching For Bobby Orr by Stephen Brunt. Brunt provides the definitive if unauthorized biography on one of the sport's biggest names. This book was the hit of the 2006. Now you can get it for just 10 bucks !

For the past five days the fine folks at Firefly Books have been giving away FIVE copies of the wildly popular book Shooting From The Lip by Chris McDonell, exclusively to readers of HockeyBookReviews.com ! Our last winner is Jerrod Bennett, also of Toronto. A lot of Toronto people have been entering this contest this week! Jerrod correctly identified Patrick Roy as saying " I can't hear what Jeremy says, because I've got my two Stanley Cup rings plugging my ears." Stay tuned. I will be announcing another Firefly Books contest this week!

I just learned about this new title this weekend: Win, Tie, or Wrangle: The Inside Story of the Old Ottawa Senators. Published by Penumbra Press , the book is written by retired librarian Paul Kitchen. The Ottawa Citizen, who called the book "an impressively detailed history," recently interviewed Kitchen . I do not really know much about the book, so you'll have to rely on the two links above until further notice.