Boy in Motion: Rick Hansen's Story.

This is the story of the active boyhood of Rick Hansen—basketball, volleyball, football, and, especially, fishing. Hitchhiking home from fishing one day the vehicle he was in flew off the road and flipped over. Hansen was paralyzed below his waist. He stayed in the hospital for seven months, where he was fitted for braces and crutches, but they slowed him down too much. He moved to a wheelchair. Even coming home from the hospital he wasn’t slowed down—driving using special hand controls his father had fitted for him in the family vehicle.

Once home again he signed up for wheelchair volleyball and wheelchair basketball. As with anyone getting used to mobility aids, Hansen had many accidents. He fell down stairs at home and slipped in the snow at school, where he had to wait for someone to help him up. Once he and his wheelchair went down a hill too fast and both ended up in the water. Hansen managed to get his wheelchair out of the water and haul himself out as well. After this, he went fishing!

Rick Hansen continued to travel and participate in wheelchair sports. His motto as quoted in the book is “There may be a thousand things I’ll never be able to do again … but there are ten thousand things I can still do.”

As the “boy in motion” grew older he started on his Man in Motion World Tour, in which he travelled to 34 countries in his wheelchair to bring awareness of the capabilities of people with disabilities and to raise funds for spinal cord injury research. More details on this are covered in the two-page Afterword. There are also two pages of facts and figures on Rick Hansen’s life included at the end of the book. This book is wonderfully illustrated on every page in bright, happy colours.

Parents may wish to decide what age is appropriate for their child to read this book. The accidents mentioned earlier may be a point of identification for a child or frightening. Boy in Motion: Rick Hansen’s Story is an inspiring tale and as such is highly recommended.