Hockey Trivia for Kids 3: Stanley Cup Edition. Eric Zweig. Illustrated by Bill Dickson. Toronto, ON: Scholastic Canada, 2011. 122 pp., pbk., $6.99. ISBN 978-1-4431-0466-1. Subject Headings: Stanley Cup (Hockey)-Miscellanea-Juvenile literature. National Hockey League-Miscellanea-Juvenile literature. Hockey-Miscellanea-Juvenile literature. Grades 3 and up / Ages 8 and up. Review by Dave Jenkinson. *** /4

excerpt:

More Growing Pains

In 1924, the Montreal Canadiens added a band to the Stanley Cup and not only filled it with the names of their players, but also their coaches and management staff. From that year on, every team that has won the Stanley Cup has also engraved the names of coaches and management. Between 1924 and 1947, a brand new band had to be added to the Stanley Cup nearly every year. By 1947, the Cup stood at its current height but was only a few centimeters wide. People often refer to the Stanley Cup of this era as the “elephant” leg Cup, the “cigar” Cup or the “stove pipe” Cup.

Still Growing ...

In 1948, the Stanley Cup was remodelled into the “barrel shape” we’re familiar with today. Since 1958, the barrel of the Stanley Cup has had five large bands for engraving names. Each band can hold 13 years worth of championship team and player names.

Don’t let the “For Kids” portion of the title fool you. “Big” kids, aka adults, will also enjoy the third iteration of Eric Zweig’s Hockey Trivia for Kids, with the first two volumes having appeared in 2006 (CM, Vol. XIII, No. 12, February 2, 2007) and 2008 (CM, Vol. XV, No. 4, October 10, 2008). What differentiates this third volume from the previous two is that it focuses entirely on facts, trivia and anecdotes that relate to the Stanley Cup, professional hockey’s ultimate prize and the oldest trophy competed for by professional athletes in North America. Donated in 1892 by Frederick Arthur Stanley, aka Lord Stanley of Preston, who was the Governor General of Canada from 1888-1893, the Cup became permanently associated with the National Hockey League in 1927.

      The book’s brief entries have no obvious organizational structure, but certain headings, such as “Did You Know?” “On the Road with Stanley”, “Name Game” and “By the Numbers,” do repeat. The “Did You Know?” sections provide interesting bits of trivia. For example, “Did You Know?” that “The first time that Stanley Cup games were broadcast was in 1953 between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins. The Canadiens won the series four games to one.”

      On the 100th birthday of the Stanley Cup, the NHL thought that allowing each player on the winning team to spend a whole day with the Cup would be a great way to celebrate this anniversary. Doing so proved to be so popular that, since 1995, the practice has become a new “tradition.” The “On the Road with Stanley” entries briefly describe what some of the players did with the Cup on their day. For instance, in 2006, the Carolina Hurricane’s Doug Weight created a giant ice-cream sundae in the Cup’s bowl and shared it with his wife and three children.

      “Name Game” entries provide tidbits of information about the names of teams, players and staff that are engraved on the Cup, with one such snippet being that the name of at least one representative of three generations of the Patrick family is etched on the trophy.

      “By the Numbers” sections consist of information presented in chart form. For example, one lists the 16 players who have scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in overtime and another the six “NHL Teams with the longest current Stanley Cup winless streaks.” (The Toronto Maple Leafs, whose last Cup win was in 1967, have the “distinction” of leading that parade.)

      Hockey Trivia for Kids 3 is illustrated with more than a dozen black and white photographs as well as Dickson’s cartoon art.

      Sure to be popular with hockey fans of all ages and reading abilities, the Stanley Cup Edition of Hockey Trivia for Kids 3 is a good library and individual purchase.

Recommended.

Dave Jenkinson, CM’s editor, lives in Winnipeg, MB, the home of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets (beta version), one of 13 teams which Zweig identifies in a “By the Numbers” chart as having never won the Stanley Cup.

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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