Brady Brady and the MVP. Mary Shaw. Illustrated by Chuck Temple. Waterloo, ON: Brady Brady Inc, 2004. 32 pp., pbk., $6.99. ISBN 0-9735557-7-7. Subject Headings: Hockey stories. Sportsmanship-Juvenile fiction. Preschool-grade 3 / Ages 4- 8. Review by Liz Greenaway. **1/2 /4

excerpt:

One day after practice, the coach sat down next to Kev.

With a proud smile on his face, he said to his player,

"Kev, the coach from another teams wants to know if you'd like to play for them. They need another center for their top line. I'd hate to lose you, but you'd be getting a ton of ice time. It's your decision, but they need to know by tomorrow."

For the first time in his life, Kev was speechless. He sat alone in the dressing room to think.

"Could I leave the Icehogs?" Kev said out loud.

But nobody was around to answer him.

Again that night, Kev dreamt about racing up the ice, sparks flying from his skates, and scoring the winning goal.

He was on the top line for his new team. He was one of the "stars." This time when he woke up, he realized it didn't have to be a dream.

The Icehogs love hockey. Not all of them are talented, like Brady Brady, but they all love their team. Kev is always the last, and loudest, to arrive. The others wonder if he doesn't take hockey as seriously as they do as he sometimes forgets to take off his skate guards and chats with the ref before every game. On the bench, he's a serious cheerleader yelling to his teammates, "Let's go Icehogs! Skate hard! Nice pass! Great job!"

     When he's offered the chance to play for another team promising him more ice time, Kev is not sure what to do. While the promise of being a star is enticing, in the end, he realizes that his friends on the team are more important. When Brady is awarded the MVP puck, he passes it on to Kev saying, "I thought he deserved it more -- after all doesn't MVP stand for Most Vocal Player?" Computer generated illustrations by Chuck Temple play up the fun of the story in whimsical cartoons.

     This is a great story about the different ways to be a star, and it will appeal to even non-hockey fans. An excellent choice for any home or school library.

Recommended.

Liz Greenaway has worked in bookselling and publishing and lives in Edmonton, AB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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