Goodnight, Hockey Fans

Illustrated by Jacqui Lee
Kids Can Press, 2017
ISBN 978-1-77138-105-5

 

A young boy doesn’t want to go to bed. The hockey game is on! “What if I can’t fall asleep?” the boy says. “Don’t worry,” says his dad. “You will.” After his parents have tucked him in and turned out the light, he shines a flashlight on his prized hockey possessions around his room: the posters of his favourite players, the pennant for his favourite team, the puck. Then he decides to listen to the game on his bedside radio, which he places under his pillow. With the familiar drone of the announcer’s voice for company, the boy drifts off to sleep. He dreams he has joined his favourite team on the ice — where he scores the winning goal! And the boy smiles as the announcer exclaims, “What a play! What a goal! What a game!