My Leafs Sweater

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

Darryl Sittler is Michael’s favorite hockey player in this picture
book set in the 1970s. Michael wants a sweater like Sittler’s. His
parents try to buy one, but they are sold out in every store. Instead,
Michael gets to attend a Leafs game at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Hockey fans—especially Maple Leaf fans—will enjoy this celebration
of the game. Michael wants a Maple Leaf sweater because it epitomizes
hockey. It doesn’t have a flame or a sabre or other symbol that have
nothing to do with hockey. It has a maple leaf, which Michael has seen
frozen in the ice beneath his skates, trapped until spring. Maple leaves
changing color signal the beginning of hockey season. And the maple leaf
symbolizes Canada. In the time-honored Canadian way, Michael and his
friends play pickup hockey on the traditional frozen pond.

The illustrations evoke the 1970s with such authentic details as shag
carpets and rotary phones. There are some nice touches of Canadiana,
including a Group of Seven print in Michael’s living room.

One minor criticism pertains to the type. On each page several words
are enlarged and printed blue, red, or yellow. The reason for the
emphasis is not always clear and the abrupt change in font is
distracting and breaks the flow of the narrative.

My Leafs Sweater is recommended for young hockey fans but also for a
general readership because of its interesting storyline and strong
Canadian content.