BOOKS
Eyes on the Ice
Ten-year-old Lukas and his brother Denys want nothing more than to play hockey, but it’s 1963, and they live in Czechoslovakia, where the secret police (the “Eye”) are constantly on the lookout for anyone committing crimes against the state — whether that be reading a magazine about the NHL or saying anything negative about the Communist regime. Lukas’s father works for a newspaper, and printing the truth is a dangerous activity.
The family is poor, but hockey is the one bright light for the boys. They learn to skate on a bumpy outdoor rink in a city park. And when their talent is noticed, they are encouraged to try out for a local youth league, where they are thrilled to play in a real arena for the first time.
Then the boys’ father is arrested. No one knows where he has been taken or when he might be coming home. Lukas and Denys soon realize they are being watched, too, and when the secret police promise them information about their father if they help throw a game against a visiting Soviet team, Lukas must make some difficult decisions that may endanger his family and his friends, as he faces some tough questions about what loyalty really means.
My Left Skate: The Extraordinary Story of Eliezer Sherbatov
A 2023 CANADIAN CHILDREN’S BOOK CENTRE “BEST BOOK”
FINALIST FOR THE 2024 WILLOW AWARDS AND FOR THE 2024 RED CEDAR BOOK AWARDS
Based on extensive interviews, My Left Skate: The Extraordinary Story of Eliezer Sherbatov is a first-person biography of a teenager who had it all on the hockey rink: guts, drive, and exceptional talent. When a freak accident leaves him with a permanent disability and no feeling below his left knee, everyone believes Eliezer’s career is over – everyone except his mother, a professional power skating coach. She teaches Eliezer to skate using the muscles in his upper leg, and after two and a half years of operations and rehabilitation, he returns to the rink to become one of Quebec’s elite junior players.
Still undrafted at age nineteen, Eliezer embarks on a professional career in Europe in the hopes of one day returning to the NHL. His travels lead him to France, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, and to Poland, where he lives and plays hockey just a few kilometres from the Auschwitz death camp, haunted by memories of the past. In its stunning conclusion, My Left Skate describes Eliezer’s life in Ukraine and his struggle to escape from war after Russia invades the very region in which he plays.
Journeyman: The Story of NHL Right-Winger Jamie Leach
FINALIST FOR THE HIGH PLAINS BOOK AWARDS and a CCBC BEST BOOK
Journeyman is a first-person biography of Ojibwe right winger Jamie Leach, son of the legendary NHL superstar Reggie Leach. Follow the fascinating hockey trajectory from his childhood years watching his father play for the Philadelphia Flyers, to Jamie’s first goal in the NHL.
Journeyman touches on Jamie’s summers on Lake Winnipeg, the World Junior Hockey Championships, his life in the minor leagues, and his eventual draft into the NHL as a Pittsburgh Penguin. Discover how some of hockey’s biggest stars such as Bobby Clarke, Jaromir Jagr, and Mario Lemieux influenced Jamie’s life.
Written in close consultation with Jamie and his mother, readers will learn about the struggles Jamie conquered, including his father’s alcoholism and his own overwhelming self-doubt. A story of determination, heartbreak and perseverance.