Hockey Opposites

July 12, 2010
A companion of sorts to 2009's Snowy Sports, this basic but lively book uses a hockey game to loosely demonstrate opposites such as out and in, big and small, win and lose. As the players (mostly forest animals) compete, readers can compare the opposing images. When the home team scores, their fans are all "smiles," but for the other team, it's nothing but "frowns." Readers should enjoy the sense of motion evoked on each spread, as well as the use of bold, solid colors. Ages 2–6.

July 15, 2010

Opposites collide on the hockey rink. Ghione's text allows the illustrations to tell the story of an animal hockey game in 11 two-page spreads, each of which contains a pair of opposites (the book's only words). Big bison faces off against small beaver, with a raccoon referee. One puck is knocked out by the goalie, while the one on the opposite page goes in for a score. At this development, one team's supporters react with smiles and the other's with frowns. At the end of the game, the team with the loss skates in an orderly, dejected line off the ice, while the team with the win waves sticks in the air and hoists the championship cup. Gürth's bright illustrations, created in Adobe Illustrator, employ a simple, childlike style, with thick, black outlines and solid colors within. Their simplicity and the clean compositions make this concept book appropriate for fairly young target audiences, and the array of familiar North American animals should be easily identified. The hockey theme fills a niche nicely, too. (Picture book. 2-5)

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September 1, 2010
Preschool Although hockey-themed picture books are growing more common, few of those offerings are aimed specifically at the preschool set. This slim Canadian import helps fill that gap by using the action on the rink to introduce pairs of opposites. On each double-page spread, vibrantly colored, boldly outlined digital artwork shows two hockey teams of animal players facing off on the ice, while a single word on each side introduces a contrasting idea: facing pages reading one and many, for example, feature first a single skater and then a crowd of teammates. Children will likely need adult help to puzzle out specific terms (defender and winger) as well as some spreads in which the illustrations dont immediately make clear what, exactly, is being described: one showing players getting on and off the ice, for example, may be confusing. Grths illustrations capture the speed and stick-clashing excitement of the sport, though, and the endearing animal players, whose gear cleverly accommodates horns and tails, will help turn preschoolers into hockey fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)