The All New Allstar Hockey Activity Book

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Noah, now 11, and his father, Julian, have again assembled a most
entertaining collection of 25 quizzes, puzzles, “radical”
statistics, and short feature articles. Though the book’s contents are
aimed at the NHL’s juvenile fans, many adults who encounter the
book’s fun subject matter will soon find themselves trying to complete
its activities. As with the original book, the 13 quizzes and puzzles
include word finds, multiple-choice quizzes, matching activities (e.g.,
players’ name with country of birth), and challenging “puzzling
pictures.”

Three of the six feature articles contain subject matter not readily
found elsewhere: “Concentration” identifies players who stick out
their tongues during game action and suggests why they do so, while
“Sports Photographers” provides a brief introduction to these often
overlooked participants in the business of hockey. Juvenile hockey-card
collectors should enjoy the short piece on “Collectibles.” The
hockey world’s versions of TV’s Cliff Claven will devour such
“Radical Stats” as the number of letters contained in the names of
players having the longest surnames, or the more bizarre correlation
between an individual’s month of birth and the likelihood of playing
in the NHL.

The book’s layout continues to be invitingly attractive and utilizes
more black-and-white photos than appeared in the book’s original 1990
version. Among hockey books directed at individual juvenile purchasers,
rather than the library market, The All New Allstar Hockey Activity Book
is one of the best. Highly recommended.