Customer Reviews

Z is for Zamboni: A Hockey Alphabet (Alphabet Books)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My 4 year old "hockey-nut" son absolutely adores this book. It makes bedtime easier because he knows we get to read this book. As a first grade teacher, I applaude the way that the authors have also made this a "teaching" book. My son is now recognizing the alphabet as we read the book. I plan on buying several more and giving it as a gift! A++++++

This is a must for any hockey fan with children. Not only is it a traditional ABC's book, it also teaches about the history of hockey and helps people of all ages get a better appreciation for the game.

I recently bought this book for my niece. She just loves the illustrations, and likes to read along. I think she almost has it memorized!!! A great gift for any child.

We are a hockey family, so we've enjoyed this book since the little guy was a year old. There are in-depth hockey descriptions or short. Now he's 2 and can say many of the short phrases. He loves this book!

I am always curious to learn just what letter will be used in the title of an alphabet book. "Z is for Zamboni" is perfect! Why? Because what I know about hockey is contained in the title: a zamboni (to quote the book) is "a machine that cleans the ice, ensuring for tomorrow's game/ a surface smooth and nice."

I looked at all the hockey books in the children's division of Amazon, seeking just one representative, informative book about hockey. I had a request from one of my younger patrons/students for a book on hockey. Being familiar with the alphabet books, I knew this one would not disappoint. In fact, I am sure it will delight.

But back to that zamboni. "The ice of the hockey arena becomes rough and chopped-up after the players skate on it for awhile." Repairing it was difficult until Frank Zamboni, in 1949, "invented a motorized ice-resurfacing machine" which "scrapes off a thin layer of ice and lay(s) down an even amount of water" at the beginning of each period and each game.

Does the above wording seem written for ages 4-8, the intended audience? The way all these alphabet books works is this: the little rhyming quatrains and illustrations are for kids and the more detailed information on the sides of each double-paged spread is for older audiences, making this book one for all ages. That is pretty much true for all the alphabet books.

The history of hockey, players, terms, sporting events, and participation in the sport are items included in the book. And, wow, I learned quite a bit in my read-through. Young readers will have a field day with this book. No, make that: Young readers will have a hockey game with this book. No, that means hitting and shoving and perhaps a P: penalty for two, five, or ten minutes. Do you know that, unlike other sports, when a player is sent to the penalty box, there is no replacement player? That's the double-edged penalty: against the player AND the team. Interesting item: P is for puck, "black rubber to the core." Obviously, puck represents the P, not penalty, because the word "puck" is lesser known than "penalty."

K is for King Clancy: "How much can one man do?/ Not only did he play and coach,/ he was a manger, too." And a referee. In fact, he is such a legend that an award was set in his name and presented annually to the player that "best displays leadership skills on and off the ice."

Oh yes, I forgot. I know Gretzky, in addition to zamboni. Wayne Gretzky "is considered by many to be the greatest player to ever play the game of hockey...and holds over 60 NHL records for scoring and playmaking." Indeed!

Other letters: E is for equipment (Jacques Plante was the first goalie to wear a mask--1959)--the illustration shows two boys, age 8 or so, sitting on a bench in the locker room, intently putting on their uniforms with their equipment next to them (my favorite illustration!), S and T are for penalties--Slash and Trip, H is for the Hall of Fame, which opened in Toronto in 1961, U is for Team USA, "Who, to everyone's surprise,/ at Lake Placid won Olympic Gold/," and O is for the "Original Six,/ the first teams in the NHL:/ Boston, Toronto, New York, Montreal, Detroit, and Chicago, as well."

This review began with the last alphabet letter and will close with the first: A is for Arena, but also All-Star game. An interesting factoid: "The fans often pick the team starters."

It is widely known in educational circles that a good test is also a teaching tool. I hope this review serves the same purpose, not only to enlighten about the book's contents, but also to offer a few hockey facts for brain storage.

Although intended for audiences 4-8 (I want to extend that to 12), "Z is for Zamboni" is the kind of directly presented information with excellent illustrations that entice adults to appreciate it along with their children. Highly recommended to those seeking background knowledge of the game.

This book is great--with lots of info for all ages. My 2 year-old just received it as a gift and loves it. My husband and I are just as interested as he is!

This book is a great way to work with the ABC's when you have a classful of sports-minded boys. Being a primary teacher, I am always looking for different approaches to the alphabet. What a great way to interest boys. I first heard this book from the Philadelphia Flyers/Phantoms Organization. They came to our school for an assembly. Since it was a little over our children's heads, they read this book to them instead. The children were enthralled. I then had to order it to become a permanent part of my personal school library! Not only does it explain the basics of hockey, it brings in some of its history. Very enjoyable!!

I was absolutely first-line, rookie-of-the-year impressed by "Z is for Zamboni." I don't think there could have been much more crease-crashing, glove-wearing, hockey-spelling hockey in this book. Everyone I've shown it to has been impressed both by the amount of hockey in the book, and also by the fact that all 26 some-odd letters have a rhyme specifically written for them, relating to the "old stick and puck." I would recommend this book to anyone interested in hockey, or the alphabet.

The board book very of the book pales in comparison to the full version. Sometimes board books are edited to keep the main story and essence of the book intact. Sometimes they are not. Not only does this board book understandably leave out all the interesting facts on each of the pages to save space, it also less understandably contains only 2 lines of the 4 line rhyme for each letter. With only 2 lines, guess what? it doesn't even rhyme. At first my spouse thought maybe it didn't rhyme because it was originally a Canadian book and was translated from French. (lol!) Here's an example, for the letter F, the board book has only "F is for the Forward who likes to skate quite fast". The full book continues with "He loves to pass as well as shoot to score a goal at last." The book is so much richer with the all four lines for each letter. The board book has the same beautiful pictures as the original, but without only 2 of the four main lines for each letter, it really misses something including the rhyme. We are now happily the owners of the full book, which has let us know how much we were missing, and the board book will be moving on to the discard pile.

I bought this book for my first granddaughter and coming from a hockey family it was a necessary buy. I'm buying a copy for my new grandson. The illustrations are fantastic. The word choices are right on the mark. A must for a hockey loving family.