Breaking the Ice

September 1, 2020
Preschool-G Growing up, Manon Rh�aume played ice hockey with her brothers and watched them compete on the team their dad coached. Once, when they needed a goalie, he put 5-year-old Manon in the game. She played well and loved it. Some people objected to her participating in a boy's game, and that pressure increased as she grew older, but she worked hard and excelled. In 1992, 20-year-old Manon skated onto the ice to play goalie in a Tampa Bay Lightning preseason game. The crowd cheered her as the first woman to play a game in the NHL (or NBA or NFL or MLB). Written in third person from Manon's viewpoint, the story unfolds with moments of drama and success, underpinned by her determination. Payne's expressive large-scale illustrations, created with acrylics and colored pencils, portray even minor characters as individuals. In an excellent appended note, Rh�aume reflects on her experiences, applauds the success of women's hockey, and muses it's crazy that she remains the only woman to have played a game in any of the four major North American sports leagues.Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

September 14, 2020
When Manon Rhéaume skated onto the ice for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992, she became the first and only woman to play “in any of the four major North American sports leagues.” But her boundary-breaking hockey career started at age five. In Bullaro’s telling, Rhéaume’s coach father puts her in the game wearing a goalie mask, explaining that, “People aren’t ready to see a girl play on a boys’ team.... But don’t let that stop you.” This straightforward, inspirational biography emphasizes Rhéaume’s grit (“She played with bruised arms and pulled muscles”) and the sexism she faced (“coaches still cut her from the best teams simply because she was a girl”). Payne’s intensely detailed illustrations realistically capture the dull sheen of goalie pads and the thwack of slap shots as Rhéaume plays her way to the pros. Includes an afterword by Rhéaume, a timeline, and “fun facts.” Ages 4–8.

September 15, 2020
Manon Rh�aume breaks the ice and the glass ceiling in this new biography of one of hockey's trailblazing women. Though women have been playing hockey for almost as long as the sport has been in existence, for Manon and other girls growing up in the 1970s and '80s, playing with the boys was practically unheard of. As a young player Manon got her break because the team needed a goalie, and since her brothers always made her play goal at home, she was eager to volunteer. She thrived in the position, becoming the first female to play in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, the first female to play a game in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and ultimately the first female to play in an NHL game, for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992. Along the way Rh�aume also earned championships and Olympic medals with the Canadian National Women's Hockey Team. Bullaro keeps the pace in this highlight reel of a biography. Payne's illustrations, despite some anachronistic depictions of modern equipment, truly capture the velocity and scale of hockey and Manon's unique position in it. With the exception of a couple of journalists of color, the White French Canadian woman is surrounded by White players and fans. Rh�aume herself contributes an afterword. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 20.7% of actual size.) An eminently enjoyable biography, not just for hockey fans, but for all who love stories of pioneering women. (timeline, additional facts) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

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