My First Book of Hockey –great look at the game for ages 8 and under

Growing up in the south I don’t know too much about hockey. While living in a cold environment isn’t mandatory towards playing or enjoying the sport it does seem to thicken up your blood that allows one to tolerate icy environs. I understand how hockey can be a fun game to watch, it’s just that I don’t understand the game. My First Book of Hockey from Sports Illustrated Kids is not intended for adults.

Its bright one colored pages with big photographs and a cartoon kid guide to escort readers through the book provide no illusions who is the target audience. It’s a simple, easy to understand book that explains the true basics of hockey. From the number of players on each team, six-a fact I didn’t know prior to reading the book. One of them is a goalie (I knew that), two defensemen and three forwards.

The rest of My First Book of Hockey takes young readers through a hypothetical game.  There are some basic terms, such as checked, on the fly, slap shot and many others that are accompanied by a vivid photograph that illustrates what’s happening. As the book moves along readers will see what period it is in the upper left corner and how much time is remaining in the upper right.

Parents will appreciate the quality that went into this book. It’s a thick hardback cover that’s printed on thicker than average paper stock that allows the semi gloss sheen to make the photos ‘pop’. The pages also feature a variety of colors that compliment the words and photos, which make it a very simple book to re-read as a good night book to young sports fans.

My First Book of Hockey is, as the title implies, very basic. If your child knows the basics about hockey this book is probably too simple for them. Do you have a young child that is hockey curious? The First Book of Hockey is for them. Ages 8 and under will get the most out of the book while those kids older will need a ‘bigger kid’ look at how the game works.