Sid the Kid and the Dryer: A Story About Sidney Crosby

Sid the Kid and the Dryer is a heartwarming story with an encouraging message for young (and old) readers! There are three types of stories within this book. The author tells the main story, that of Sidney Crosby as a young boy. Passionate about hockey, he descends to the basement daily and shoots pucks at the net. He enthusiastically cheers when he scores and tries again when he misses. The dents in the dryer mark his failures, but these do not faze him until one day when he watches an older boy shoot the puck perfectly in the net over and over again. This day marks a change for Sidney, the day he feels like giving up because he can “never be that good” so “What’s the point of all this practice?”

At this point, the “coaches” step in. I love how the author animates the inanimate objects in the basement so that it feels like there is a crowd of people with Sidney. The two black, weight-bearing posts, Jack One and Jack Two, call out encouraging remarks. Milton, the washing machine, shouts out supportive comments too. The main coach is the dryer, W.P. (Whirlpool). Here begins the secondary story within the main story. W.P. is the “new boy on the block”. Recently installed in the Crosby household, W.P. is anxiously trying to fit it with Milton and the two Jacks and is freaked out when he sees Sidney’s puck shots flying wildly everywhere. Once he gets used to the situation, he enjoys hanging out and joins in with the positive encouraging remarks, even after more and more dents appear on his once new body. W.P. has come into his own and feels part of the household.

However, after Sidney watches the older, skilled boy and becomes discouraged, W.P., the Jacks and Milton grow worried as they see the changes in the boy. They do not know how to bring him out of his despair. The boy continues to skate around on his rollerblades, shooting at the net but with less enthusiasm and no excited cheers. The turning point in the story happens when the father notices the sad state of W.P. and moves to get him replaced. The anxiety of W.P. spikes when he is unplugged, and he fears the worst – the removal from the Crosby household. But then, unexpectedly, Sidney, himself, steps in to stop his father. He studies the dents on W.P. with new eyes, realizing that all his mistakes are okay and important in making him a better hockey player. He asks his father to leave the dryer in the basement because it reminds him to “keep at it and get better”. The father agrees and leaves W.P. there, and Sidney is left with his coaches as he picks up his hockey stick with renewed hope.

The third story consists of mini stories within the pictures of the book. The illustrator has a delightful sense of humor, and into each picture is added little critters that liven up what could have been ordinary drawings. There is a dust bunny shaped like a bunny when the father unplugs the dyer’s cord and prepares to move the dryer. The lint in the garbage can watches on in concern, mirroring the worried expressions of the washer and dryer. A mouse watches the action from hidden places. A spider observes the four friends talking.

I love how the story in Sid the Kid and the Dryer: A Story About Sidney Crosby is written from the first-person point of view of W.P. the dryer. The reader empathizes with the dryer’s story even as he/she is caught up in Sidney Crosby’s dilemma. Young children have imaginations that make it natural to personify inanimate objects, and the author, Lesley Choyce, and illustrator, Brenda Jones, capture this ability in a wonderful way!