From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-A young hockey player receives the ultimate gift when her parents accidentally buy Wayne Gretzky's hockey stick at a charity auction. However, her father insists that she keep the expensive collector's item displayed on pegs above her bed. Temptation overcomes, and the stick is smuggled to the ice rink inside a huge stuffed giraffe. With the autographed stick, the child scores goal after goal and her team has its best season ever. Meanwhile, Gretzky himself is in a scoring slump. The newspaper says he's lost his stuff. After a sleepless night full of guilty dreams, the protagonist hurries to Madison Square Garden determined to return the magic stick. The hockey pro is so touched by his young fan's generosity that he requests her autograph. A satisfying ending shows the famous stick displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame. This story is told in humorous rhyme and is accompanied by delightful cartoon illustrations. Even children who have no knowledge of hockey will be entertained by this book and impressed by its message. Maloney and Zekauskas have scored a winning goal with this one.Jackie Hechtkopf, University of Maryland, College Park Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
Inspired by a real event, this is the fictional tale of a little girl whose parents win Wayne Gretzky's hockey stick at an auction. When the child begins to play with it, she becomes her team's star. Meanwhile, "The Great One" goes into the greatest slump of his career. Realizing he needs the stick more than she does, the girl returns it to him, and Gretzky gets over his thousand-goal hump.

Peter Maloney and Felicia Zekauskas really did win a Gretzky hockey stick at an auction, and The Great One subsequently did go into a slump. The authors have turned their adventure into THE book for young sports fans, with clever rhyming verse, witty pictures, and a heartfelt theme about what it means to give. They will donate a percentage of proceeds from this book to the New York Presbyterian Hearst Burn Center for Pediatric Burn Care, which held the original auction.

American Bookseller made the duo's first book, Redbird at Rockefeller Center, a fall 1997 Pick of the Lists, and called it "reminiscent of Dr. Seuss classics." With The Magic Hockey Stick, they've done it again!


Card catalog description
When her parents win Wayne Gretzky's hockey stick at a charity auction, a young girl begins playing with it and becomes her team's star.


About the Author
Peter Maloney and Felicia Zekauskas (www.redbirdland.com) live in New York City.

ANNOTATION

When her parents win Wayne Gretzky's hockey stick at a charity auction, a young girl begins playing with it and becomes her team's star.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Do you believe in magic? Tracy does. When she starts using Wayne Gretzky's hockey stick, won by her parents at a charity auction, she suddenly becomes the best player on her hockey team. She hasn't become a better player overnight-it's the magic of The Great One's stick! But while Tracy's star is on the rise, Wayne's is steadily dropping. He's in the greatest slump of his career. Tracy knows that Wayne needs his magic stick back, but she needs it, too. The question is: Who needs it more? This heartfelt story, with its clever rhyme and vibrant artwork, will delight young readers.