Kara Kootstra

EducatingParents.org rating: Approved

This book is double Ohhhhh inducing. The story is sweet and heartfelt, and true. Bobby just wanted a shiny new pair of black skates for his birthday, and instead got his big brother’s hand-me-downs. They didn’t fit perfect, but they worked and allowed him to continue his love of skating and hockey. He made the skates work, and made memories in them to last a lifetime. And when the time was right, they became his little brother's hand-me-down skates.

Just read this to my son. It's a great story about a famous hockey player and also a great lesson about practicing and never giving up.

The idea of the book is fine; Bobby Orr, the famous hockey player who inspired the story, writes an afterword and it's fine. The illustrations are good. The sing-songy rhyming text, however, is not fine in this message-heavy book.