TBC: The Best Goalie Ever

Teebz's Book Club is back with another great book for youngsters today as we continue with our efforts to get young hockey fans reading, and young readers picking up more books about hockey. We've seen a few good books already, and it's time to add another in The Best Goalie Ever, written by Gilles Tibo, illustrated by Bruno St-Aubin, and published by Scholastic. Much like the last book we reviewed on here, Where's My Hockey Sweater?, Mr. Tibo has written this book for younger readers, aiming for children between the ages of three and eight years-old. The colourful illustrations make it easy for younger children to get a good visual sense of the story, and the easy-to-read story will further your child's reading abilities while being fun.

Gilles Tibo has written and illustrated over one hundred books. He is an award-winning writer, earning such prestigious accolades as two Governor General's Awards and two Mr. Christie's Book Awards. Born in Nicolet, Quebec in 1951, Mr. Tibo got his start working as a freelance illustrator designing flyers and album covers. He also drew a large portion of the French-Canadian comic strips that appeared in newspapers. Thanks to his work as an artist, Mr. Tibo translated that success into illustrating books. More recently, he has begun to write books as well, and his success has resulted in worldwide accolades for his work. Mr. Tibo resides in Montreal, Quebec with his family.

Bruno St-Aubin began his career at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. After receiving a scholarship, he began work at Metamorphosis magazine. After returning to Canada, he enrolled at Concordia University in their animation courses. Since 1988, Mr. St-Aubin has illustrated over 50 children's books. Mr. St-Aubin resides in Quebec with his family.

A young boy named Nicholas plays the central character in The Best Goalie Ever. Nicholas' dad asks Nicholas if he's interested in playing net for his team the following day, and Nicholas says "yes". His dad, tucking him into bed, wishes him a good night, and it suddenly dawns on Nicholas that he has never stopped a puck in life!

Nicholas spends the entire night thinking about being a goaltender, and he stays up all night worrying about stopping pucks. As you may know, athletes need their sleep to perform at their highest level, so Nicholas needed to get his sleep. Before he knew it, Nicholas' dad was getting him out of bed and he hadn't slept a wink! What would happen to Nicholas? Would he be able to help his team win despite being completely exhausted?

The 32-page book is an excellent story about preparing for a big game, and it is a good example of why children need their sleep - a message that parents routinely tell their children when sending them to bed! The story is humourous, and will make children laugh and smile when they read about Nicholas' goaltending debut. The pictures are colourful and vivid, and they help in bringing this story to life.

This book is definitely for readers between the ages of three to eight years-old due to its easy-to-read writing, and would be a good start for any child who is breaking into reading. The Best Goalie Ever takes a message that parents are trying to instill in their children, and makes it fun while avoiding the "nagging" that children sometimes tune out. Because of this, The Best Goalie Ever certainly deserves the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval, and comes highly recommended for all youngsters.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!