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CM . . .
. Volume XVII Number 6. . . .October 8, 2010
excerpt:
Gürth, the illustrator, has previously produced a number of concept books for young children, including ABC of Canada, Canada in Colours and Snowy Sports. His bright, bold illustration style, which features anthropomorphic cartoon-like animals that are outlined with a thick black line, is immediately recognizable and is most suited to a very young audience.
Recommended with reservations. Dave Jenkinson, CM's editor, lives in Winnipeg, MB.
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As the book's title indicates, Gürth's present offering deals with the concept of opposites, and Gürth presents the opposites within the context of the game of hockey. Eleven different "opposites" are provided via pairs of facing pages. The book has a "loose" storyline in that it begins with the two hockey teams skating onto the ice and concludes with one team celebrating its cup-winning victory while the dejected losing team skates off the ice.
The difference between "out" and "in" also requires the young viewer/reader to know that the words' use refers to whether or not the puck is in the net. "Miss" and "goal" are really only opposites within a sports context. "Off" and "on" are again complicated by being employed within the hockey setting with the words referring to players coming on the ice or leaving it, concepts that again are not easily translated into a static visual form. In hockey, "defender" and "winger" are not necessarily opposites as a "winger" can be both an offensive and a defensive player, depending upon whether or not her/his team has control of the puck. Pairings that do work well for a younger audience include the aforementioned big/small plus smiles/frowns, one/many and loss/win; however, behind/ahead and up/down could be challenging for the younger audience who may not know on what to focus in the busy illustrations in order to "see" the opposites.