Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton. (Winter Olympic Sports). Robin Johnson. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4043-8 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4024-7 (hc.). Subject Headings: Bobsledding-Juvenile literature. Tobogganing-Juvenile literature. Coasting (Winter sports)-Juvenile literature. Winter Olympics-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-11. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4

Paralympic Sports Events. (Winter Olympic Sports). Robin Johnson. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4044-5 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4025-4 (hc.). Subject Headings: Paralympics-Juvenile literature. Sports for people with disabilities-Juvenile literature. Winter Olympics-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-11. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4

	Ice Hockey and Curling. (Winter Olympic Sports). Robin Johnson. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4042-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4023-0 (hc.). Subject Headings: Hockey-Juvenile literature. Curling-Juvenile literature. Winter Olympics-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-11. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4

	Alpine and Freestyle Skiing. (Winter Olympic Sports). Kylie Burns. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4039-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4020-9 (hc.). Subject Headings: Downhill skiing-Juvenile literature. Freestyle skiing-Juvenile literature. Winter Olympics-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-11. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4

Biathlon, Cross-Country, Ski Jumping, and Nordic Combined. (Winter Olympic Sports). Kylie Burns. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4040-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4021-6 (hc.). Subject Headings: Downhill skiing-Juvenile literature. Freestyle skiing-Juvenile literature. Winter Olympics-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-11. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4

	Snowboard. (Winter Olympic Sports). Joseph Gustaitis. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4045-2 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4026-1 (hc.). Subject Headings: Snowboarding-Juvenile literature. Winter Olympics-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-11. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4

	Speed Skating. (Winter Olympic Sports). Joseph Gustaitis. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4046-9 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4027-8 (hc.). Subject Headings: Speed skating-Juvenile literature. Winter Olympics-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-11. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4

	Figure Skating. (Winter Olympic Sports). Joseph Gustaitis. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $9.95 (pbk.), $20.76 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4041-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4022-3 (hc.). Subject Headings: Figure skating-Juvenile literature. Winter Olympics-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-6 / Ages 8-11. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4

excerpt:

The sport of figure skating started in England in the 1800s, then it came to North America. Around the year 1850, a man named E.V. Bushnell invented a special steel skate that let skaters jump and spin in exciting ways.

Crabtree Publishers has produced a series on Winter Olympic sports for Canadian children in advance of the 2010 Games being staged in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C. These 6” x 9” hardcovers are chock-a-block full of facts about each particular sport, and while they are not instructive in the mechanics of each sport, they do contain explanations about the history, terms, moves, events and the athletes who have chased Olympic gold.

     The series provides interesting information that children can learn about and use as reference when watching the Games. Each separate event held for each sport is explained since each event requires a different skill set. Extraordinary accomplishments, upsets, records and failures throughout Olympic history are recorded, and a red banner at the bottom of the page lists the winners of the event in men’s and women’s competitions in 2006. Pictures of athletes bending or twisting in their classic poses are included on nearly every page.

     Two pages at the end of each book contain listings of the athletes or teams that have qualified for the events in Vancouver and show a snapshot of the venue where the competition will take place. Web addresses are given for further information. An unnecessary glossary follows; full of an eclectic assortment of bolded words that either do not need explanation or should be explained within the text (if ‘spin’ in the excerpt above needs to be defined, then why not ‘jump’?). An index and a legend of the abbreviations of the names of countries wrap up each book.

     The “Winter Olympic Sports” series will be useful in a school library, especially for those students who are interested in or involved in specific sports, or for the armchair bobsledder, quicker on the statistics than on the ice run.

Recommended.

Harriet Zaidman is a teacher-librarian in Winnipeg, MB.

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

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

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