The Magic Hockey Stick

by Peter Maloney, Felicia Zekauskas (Illustrations)

Inspired by a real event, this is the fictional tale of a little girlwhose parents win Wayne Gretzky's hockey stick at an auction. When thechild begins to play with it, she becomes her team's star. Meanwhile,"The Great One" goes into the greatest slump of his career. Realizing he needs the stick more than she does, the girl returns it to him, andGretzky gets over his thousand-goal hump.

Peter Maloney andFelicia Zekauskas really did win a Gretzky hockey stick at an auction,and The Great One subsequently did go into a slump. The authors haveturned their adventure into THE book for young sports fans, with cleverrhyming verse, witty pictures, and a heartfelt theme about what it means to give. They will donate a percentage of proceeds from this book tothe New York Presbyterian Hearst Burn Center for Pediatric Burn Care,which held the original auction.

American Bookseller made the duo's first book, Redbird at Rockefeller Center , a fall 1997 Pick of the Lists, and called it "reminiscent of Dr. Seuss classics." With The Magic Hockey Stick , they've done it again!

Genres: Sports, Picture Books, Childrens, Hockey, Fiction

40 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids are obsessed with books about hockey and this book did not disappoint. They loved the fact that that main character hid the stick in the stuffed giraffe. Great illustrations too!

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

When her parents win Wayne Gretzky’s hockey stick at a charity auction, a young girl begins playing with it and becomes her team’s star. But when Wayne’s game starts to decline, she knows what she has to do to help him get back on track.

[Meliss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhymes and flow 👌🏼👌🏼🦒

[Dakota Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun read. The illustrations were beautiful, and it went by so quickly. Definitely recommend it for beginning readers.

[JustOneMoreBook.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, maybe we like this book more than our girls do. Without a single hockey-loving bone in our all-Canadian bodies we still can’t help swelling up with some huge, undefined emotion when we read this book. Oh, and our girls enjoy it too.

Listen to our chat about this book on our JustOneMoreBook.com Children's Book Podcast:

http://www.justonemorebook.com/2006/0...

[Upstatemamma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my son's favorite books. The pictures are great and the story is told with a lot of rhyming which truly makes it more fun. Besides, the girl in the book is a NY Rangers fan, so what's not to love? :)

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Girl is given Wayne Gretzy's autographed hockey stick (from auction) Gretzy immediately goes into a slump. She gives the stick back to him but he won't take it until she signs it. After his 1000th goal, the stick goes into the NHL HOF.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicholas LOVES this book! Very cute.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book. Fun rhymes, great pictures, and I love that it was about a girl who played hockey!

[Ginny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really cute book, and great for our family of hockey fans. :) And I just love a book that has a girl playing hocket.

[Ellie Chenoweth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best bc not very diverse. Good for students who like sports

[Stevanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a picture book that rhymes and if my child has it in bed and asks for it to be read, it must be good!

[Thomas Woolley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down the best book I've ever read

[Jessica Montanaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

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