Erik the Elk: The Big Hockey Game

Erik the Elk: The Big Hockey Game is a book that will tickle the metaphoric funny bone of the young reader. Full of absurdities, it will delight the imagination of a child still forming a sense of what can and cannot happen. This is the type of book that will have adults rolling their eyes but the children bent in half with the giggles. Why have a snowshoe race where all the contestants are blindfolded? Because the results are ridiculous and hilariously funny – animals going in the wrong direction or bumping into the porcupine with his quills. Why throw balls of ice cream instead of snowballs in a “snowball” attack? Because it’s humorous seeing coloured balls of ice cream flying places where snowballs ought to fly and causing sticky messes.

The story is told from the perspective of Erik the Elk, a hockey enthusiast whose one goal for the Snowball Festival is to win the hockey game and the trophy – the Snowflake Cup. He sharpens his blades while his friend Peckpeck McPeck, the referee, practices whistle-blowing in his mirror. Harriet Hare, the captain of the hockey team Musical Maples, which always wins the trophy, picks the two animals up, and the three walk through the snow to the Snowball Festival. On their way, they see Aaron the Heron ice fishing and wonder what tricks he’ll play on the festival goers this year.

Erik joins the blindfolded snowshoe race and promptly trips over his own four snowshoes when his legs won’t organize themselves. He cheers for the winner – Ms. Prickly the porcupine – and consoles himself on his loss by reminding himself about winning the Snowflake Cup.

It’s at the ice sculpting location when Aaron the Heron plays his prank. He launches a sticky snowball attack with colourful balls of ice cream. Erik’s ice sculpture of the Snowflake Cup is shattered, but he consoles himself with thoughts of winning the hockey trophy! All animals walk to the hockey rink with sticky patches of ice cream all over their bodies.

The Snow Stars, with Erik as captain, compete against the Musical Maples, and it’s an action-packed game of breakaways, interceptions and slapshots. In the third period, with the scored tied, Erik sees his chance to score the winning goal when Harriet crashes into him and the two are stuck together with the glue-like, sticky ice cream. In the chaos and confusion that ensues, Harriet slaps the puck into her own goal, and the Snow Stars win the game! As is his character, Erik encourages Harriet with the compliment of having played a good game and then invites her to have some ice cream.

/Erik the Elk: The Big Hockey Game is a familiar hockey game story with some humorous twists. Erik the Elk shines as an empathetic friend who cheers on competitors and encourages himself and others when they win or fail. There seems to be no main message to the story; it is simply a quirky tale of hockey with the main character’s desire to win the trophy. It seems to lack an ending, however. The story comes to an abrupt end after the accidental victory. Erik, noticing that Harriet looks glum after her slapshot wins a victory for her opponents, invites Harriet for ice cream. It feels like there should be one more page, maybe one with Harriet and Erik walking towards the ice cream stand and Erik’s arm around Harriet.

The illustrations, inviting, entertaining and attractive, are brightly coloured and creatively drawn in cartoon style. The prose text has been translated from French to English.