Children's Fiction Winter Sports
Forever
The Annual Hockey Classic
- Publisher
- Red Deer Press
- Initial publish date
- Oct 2005
- Category
- Winter Sports, Multigenerational
- Recommended Age
- 9 to 18
- Recommended Grade
- 4 to 12
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9780889953062
- Publish Date
- Oct 2005
- List Price
- $19.95
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award nominee, 2006
Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice, 2007
Snow Willow Award nominee 2006
Forever - we've been doing it absolutely forever!"
Bump has been longing to play in the annual Christmas Classic - his family's annual hockey game - for what feels like forever. A tradition begun many years ago by Bump's Grampa and the uncles, the Christmas Classic is the family's annual hockey game played by everyone in the family. Everyone but Bump that is. Even his sister Poodle takes part. When Gramma measures him against the kitchen doorframe, Bump doesn't quite meet the height requirements.
Then comes that magical year, when Grampa announces, "Tomorrow, the Christmas Classic welcomes a new player." Bump knows his time has come. Bump prays that he won't make a fool of himself, that he will play as well as he always has in his dreams. Maybe he will even be named the Most Valuable Player and have his name engraved on the Christmas Classic trophy.
When the game is finally played, Grampa and Bump combine for the final goal in a moment that Bump will remember forever.
But that's not the end of Bump's story. What follows elevates Bump's story to the realm of myth and legend, the cementing of a tradition that will warm the hearts of countless readers and live on forever.
About the authors
In the fall of 2006, Roy MacGregor, veteran newspaperman, magazine writer, and author of books, came to campus. Since 2002, MacGregor had been writing columns for the Globe and Mail, but he had a long and distinguished career in hand before he came to the national newspaper. He has won National Newspaper Awards and in 2005 was named an officer in the Order of Canada. He is the author of more than 40 books — 28 of them in the internationally successful Screech Owls mystery series for young readers — on subjects ranging from Canada, to the James Bay Cree, to hockey. That fall, he spoke to a packed room in the St. Thomas chapel. After the lecture, Herménégilde Chiasson, the Acadian poet, artist, and New Brunswick's Lieutenant Governor of the day, hosted a reception at the majestic Old Government House on the banks of the St. John River. MacGregor spent the evening surrounded by young journalists and the conversation continued late into the night. After all, there were more than three decades of stories to tell.
BRIAN DEINES has illustrated numerous books for children, including SkySisters
(written by Jan BourdeauWaboose), Dragonfly Kites (written by Thomson Highway),
and One Hockey Night (written by DavidWard). He has been nominated for
numerous awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Ruth and
Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Literature Award, the Martha Baillie Picture Book
Award, and the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award. A native of Red Deer, Alberta,
Brian lives in Toronto.
Editorial Reviews
"Forever is not only about hockey, but about time, family, and love. And when read aloud (in segments) to a holiday gathering sufficiently lubricated with hot chocolate or beer, it will surely succeed in restoring some of that long-lost Christmas glow."
— Quill & Quire
"A touching coming-of-age tale that will get even the toughest hockey fan teary-eyed."
— Canadianbookseller
"In a simple story, in his always deeply personal way, the author uses his remarkable ability to make us understand, evoking as he does, every hockey lover's touchstone."
— Ken Dryden
"It is a story of Christmas traditions which many readers, young and old, will relate to. Brian Deines' giant illustrations are a wonderful compliment to the text and portray the essence of the Canadian winter and the national winter sport of amateurs and professionals alike.
"This is not just a story book for young readers. This is a book for all ages to share over and over again during the Christmas season. It deserves to be in every school and public library and will make a wonderful Christmas gift for many ages."
— Resource Links
"Forever tugs on readers' emotions in much the same way the Robert Munsch classic Love You Forever does, except it's fleshed out with that most Canadian heartbeat, hockey. It's about as poignant as a hockey book can be. Goal!."
— Hamilton Spectator
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