Your Favorite Sport at Your Local Library
Just because the ice is gone for the summer at Young Arena doesn’t mean you have to forget about hockey until autumn.
Summer is a great time to learn a little more about the game, and the Waterloo Public Library is a great place to start. Kids in fifth grade and under can even earn free books, attend exciting programs, and have the opportunity to win other prizes as part of the library’s “Every Hero Has a Story” Youth Summer Reading Program. Registration begins June 1st. For more details, stop into the library, just two blocks from Young Arena on Commercial Street or click here.
Here are some of the books the Black Hawks recommend, all available at the Waterloo Public Library:
Primary Grades
Z is for Zamboni by Matt Napier
From A to Z, this hockey picture book of rhymes covers every letter of the alphabet. Learn more about the words and names on each page with additional information in the margins.
Dino-Hockey by Lisa Wheeler
It’s the BIGGEST rivalry in hockey prehistory. Enjoy the fun as the Meat-Eaters meet the Veggiesaurs.
Sam the Zamboni Man by James Stevenson
Matt has never been to a hockey game before. He comes to the rink for the first time together with his grandfather, Sam, the stadium’s Zamboni driver.
Hockey Counting by Mark Weakland
Large action photos of NHL players on the ice help kids who are learning counting concepts. This is one of several hockey books with an educational theme from Sports Illustrated for Kids available at Waterloo Public Library.
The Farm Team by Linda Bailey
Cheer on a hockey team of lovable farm animals as they take on the aptly named Bush League Bandits in a game which is sure to ruffle some feathers.
The Magic Hockey Stick by Peter Maloney
Taking the ice with Wayne Gretzky’s hockey stick, Tracy begins to show some of The Great One’s scoring touch and her team starts winning.
The Highest Number in the World by Roy MacGregor
When Gabe joins a new hockey team and doesn’t get to wear her favorite jersey number – the number worn by her hero, Hayley Wickenheiser – she thinks about quitting.
Intermediate Grades
Arthur and the Goalie Ghost by Marc Brown
Lovable children’s character Arthur plays hockey, learning about cooperation and teamwork along the way.
The Chicken Doesn’t Skate by Gordon Korman
A little chick named Henrietta goes from being a science project to a lucky hockey mascot and helps bring together the students at South Middle School.
There Are No Figure Eights in Hockey by Chris Kreie
Josh is an exceptional ice skater. Can he learn a new game and fit in as a hockey player?
My Life as a Human Hockey Puck by Bill Myers
It’s never easy being a goalie. It doesn’t get any easier when you’re wearing a giant chicken suit.
Getting in the Game by Dawn Fitzgerald
When both friends and adults tell Joanna Giordano that she shouldn’t skate on the local boy’s hockey team, she has to decide whether the consequences are worth it to continue playing the game she loves.
Advanced/Adult
The Game by Ken Dryden
Considered one of the greatest books ever written about hockey, Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden talks about his life in the sport. In 2002, Sports Illustrated picked The Game as one of the top ten books in the history of sports writing.
The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team by Wayne Coffey
“The saga of how coach Herb Brooks motivated a roster of 20 amateur, mostly college-age young men to orchestrate victory over an established Soviet team of seasoned, professionally trained skaters offers suspense, heroism, and a dizzying sense of the “full competitive combustion” that is a hallmark of this sport.” -School Library Journal
Orr: My Story by Bobby Orr
Perhaps the greatest player of his generation, if Bobby Orr didn’t change the game, he certainly changed expectations for what defensemen couldn’t or shouldn’t do. His autobiography describes how he got to the NHL and what happened after he left the spotlight.
Live outside Waterloo? Check with the library in your community about summer reading programs and the hockey stories on their shelves.