Clancy with the Puck tells the story of an ambitious young hockey player who becomes his team's hope for winning the Stanley Cup. However, at the crucial moment, he misses the shot and the team loses.

Because of its ending, this is a good book for introducing children to the concept of not always getting what they want. There's some good rhyming and meter in the narrative of the book, but I found it a bit dull due to my lack of interest in sports in general and hockey in particular. Still, I could see where it would be of interest to others, especially young male readers or anyone who is a fan of hockey and the suspense and thrill of the game. ( )

Canadian kids love books about ice hockey, and Clancy with the Puck is a favourite of many of my students. Mizzoni’s picture book tells the story of Clancy Cooke, a player who had been watched from a very young age, and who, ‘once he’d scored, (would) stop to flirt and brush his flowing curls’. Clancy is traded to the Hogtown Maple Buds, a ‘sorry desperate team’. Of course, Clancy revolutionizes the Maple Buds, and scores the goal that gets them into the play-offs. However, in their Stanley Cup final game, Clancy fails to score a vital penalty, and finds his star diminished. As the book concludes, we find Clancy still at the rink, but he is no longer the star of the team; now, he drives the Zamboni.

I like this picture book because it doesn’t have the happy ending one would expect. Students are always surprised that Clancy doesn’t score the winning goal, and that he is not the hero at the end. We often discuss whether or not Clancy is happy in his new role as the driver of the Zamboni (my students tend to think he is), and whether fame and fortune, and the associated expectations, can be difficult to deal with. I recommend this picture book for older elementary students, particularly for those who are obsessed with sports.

Other picture books focusing on ice hockey include The Farm Team by Linda Bailey, The F Team by Anne Laurel Carter, Where’s my Hockey Sweater by Gilles Tibo and, of course, the much-loved Canadian classic by Roch Carrier: The Hockey Sweater.

Also posted at http://manybooksmanyvoices.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/clancy-with-the-puck-by-chri.... ( )

The book is about Clancy, a young and talented hockey player, who is traded onto a losing hockey team. The team, the Hogtown Maple Buds, reach the championship game, because of Clancy. Unfortunately the teams loses in the final game, after Clancy misses the final shot. Even thought they lose, Clancy still plays, because he loves the game so much. He even works as a Zamboni driver, after he cannot play hockey anymore.

ART/MEDIA: cutouts, paint ( )

Just as Casey could hit a baseball, Clancy is a star when it comes to hockey. When Clancy Cooke joins the Hogtown Maple Buds, hopes are raised for a Stanley Cup win. Alas, in the final moments of a playoff game, when Clancy takes a penalty shot, “The puck deflected off the post, like a comet to the sky. The Buds had lost the Stanley Cup – and the fans went home to cry.” A sure winner, especially for hockey fans and those familiar with the classic story of Casey at the Bat.