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Super Skaters: World Figure Skating Stars.
Steve Milton.
Subject Headings:
Grades 4 and up / Ages 9 and up.
*** /4
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Not only will Super Skaters be of great interest to avid
figure skating fans, but it will also be very useful for school
research projects. The book is introduced by a history of figure
skating, from the first use of animal bones as skate blades some
4000 years ago, to the use of metal blades in Holland in the
14th Century, to the founding of the first skating club in the world
in Scotland around 1650, to the present. As well, there is a
description of how skaters prepare their programs, illustrated
explanations of how the various jumps are done, a listing of the
Olympic gold medalists in the four skating disciplines (men's,
women's, pairs and ice dance), and an explanation of how
competitions are judged.
"As more and more people in Europe and North America discovered the pleasures of skating, they began to skate together on ponds and lakes. The first skating club in the world, the Edinburgh Skating Club in chilly Scotland, came into being around 1650. To join the club, you had to be able to skate in a circle on one foot, then on the other foot, then jump over a pile of three hats. Perhaps these tricky exercises could be considered the first skating competition. "(Page 3)
While the above-mentioned sections are perhaps the most useful parts of the book, most people will be attracted to the book primarily for the pictures and biographical information on 21 of today's top figure skaters, including Canadians Elvis Stojko, Isabelle Brasseur, Lloyd Eisler, Shae-Lynn Bourne, and Victor Kraatz. The biographies are kept to one page in length. While the full page colour photos show the skaters in action, some of them, however, seem slightly out of focus or have poor colour quality.
Nonetheless, highly recommended.
Irene Gordon is a teacher-librarian who retired at the end of June after spending the last 14 years working in the library at Westdale Junior High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is presently co-editor of the Manitoba School Library Association Journal.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © 1997 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
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - September 5, 1997.
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