Lorna Schultz NicholsonCritiques

With wildfires looming in the not-so-distance, a family packs up to evacuate.

Strikes a nice balance between fear and reassurance, and sends the message that it's people (and pets) who matter more than possessions (but some special possessions come along too).

fire evacuation story

A story told alternately by a character with autism (Harrison) and a senior (Anna) who volunteers to be part of the best buddy program at her high school. Believable and thought provoking, the voice of Harrison is refreshingly honest and makes the reader really consider how the thinking of a person with autism might explain their actions.½

Oh man, I love this book. A high school production of Grease, a main character with Down Syndrome (seriously, when was the last time you read a book where the protagonist with DS?), another main character dealing with homophobia, a touching story... Honestly, it's just so great. So much diversity, such a great message, and such great characters.

Super cute for hockey fans and hockey fans in the making!½

I will read ANYTHING hockey. Sometimes that gets me trouble. But this one turned out to be pretty cute. Puckster plays on a hockey team and this team is playing the mascots from the NHL teams. That was a pretty cool idea. However, the story got a little heavy-handed in the kids department when Puckster starts showing off and hogging the puck. In the end, of course, he learns the importance of teamwork. Aw.

Goodreads Synopsis: One is a fifteen-year-old boy with an uncanny ability to recite every bone in the skeletal system whenever he gets anxious ― and that happens a lot. The meaning of “appropriate behaviour” mystifies him: he doesn’t understand most people and they certainly don’t understand him.

The other is a graduating senior with the world at her feet. Joining the Best Buddies club at her school and pairing up with a boy with high-functioning autism is the perfect addition to her med school applications. Plus, the president of the club is a rather attractive, if mysterious, added attraction.

Told in the alternating voices of Harrison and Anna, Fragile Bones is the story of two teens whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways.

My Review: When I started this book I thought maybe I was a little too old for it, but that went away when I realized it was just a regular story about a girl and a boy. There aren't many books with people with autism in them, so I thought I'd give it a shot, and it was a short but nice change of pace. Anna is very patient, and I was glad everything wrapped up nicely in the end for her. The writing style was simple. Nothing overly exciting happened, but nothing too bad happened either which is good. I really liked the cover for this book, that's actually why I picked this book out. I appreciated the rotating points of view between Anna and Harrison, it kept things interesting throughout the story. All in all, it was a good book, but I probably won't read it again, and if I find the rest of the books I'll read them, but I won't seek them out. Thanks for reading.

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The title says it all: Puckster and his gang of anthropomorphic hockey-playing animals face off against famous hockey team mascots, and in the process, learn an important lesson about teamwork. It's a cute book, something young hockey fans would probably enjoy.

A great children's read with a Canadian perspective.½

I loved this book. Specifically, Harrison's voice. Harrison has Asperger's (which, according to Harrison, is now known as high-function autism) and is such a heartwarming character. He fixates on bones, has a germ phobia, an amazing intellect, and even though life gets hard and people get mean, he still perseveres and tries to adjust as tough as that may be. My heart broke for the challenges he endured, the bullying he succumbed to, and the overall difficulties he suffered by having Asperger's.

Enter Anna, a senior girl a few years older than him who joins the Best Buddies program in order to befriend and help someone with a mental disability. She is kind, thoughtful, and respectful. I loved how she struggled sometimes with figuring out how to be friends or reach out to Harrison, but how she never gave up and adapted so well to the issues that arose.

The secondary characters felt just as realistic as Anna and Harrison. Joel, Harrison's older brother, copes as I imagine any sibling in this situation would. He is kind to Harrison and helps when he can, yet he still gets frustrated. I loved that Harrison's parents were involved with him, getting him to stretch is comfort zone and loving him unconditionally regardless.

Harrison made me laugh. (I was surprised by how much I did). Sometimes he took things so literally, and when he explained it, I found myself nodding along, completely seeing his point. Other times he made my heart melt or sadly even break a little. He was so brave to endure what he did and yet, everyday he got up and made the choice to continue living in a world where he was different, where he had to deal with so much more than just the normal stresses of high school and being a teen.

This is a cute little picture book about Puckster and his hockey teammates going up against a team of NHL hockey mascots. The book is great for little hockey fans and gives them some strong, positive messages in a fun way. Two of these messages are an emphasis on good teamwork and great sportsmanship. This is a great book to introduce to any pre-school hockey fans in your life.

A very well written book about teens in high school, who don't have just the regular pressures of high school and growing up to deal with, but are also high performing athletes.

Alice is a basketball player with a great shot of getting a scholarship to an elite school based on her performance as the star of the team. She also has an injury she has been trying to hide and ignore, in addition to a strained relationship with her family. She feels isolated and shooting hoops is the one thing that gives her comfort, a sense of accomplishment and a way out.

The book is really well written. It drew me into Alice's life page after page and kept me rooting for her as she tries to find her way through isolation to despair and then hope.

Highly recommended to young readers.

A very well written book about teens in high school, who don't have just the regular pressures of high school and growing up to deal with, but are also high performing athletes.

Alice is a basketball player with a great shot of getting a scholarship to an elite school based on her performance as the star of the team. She also has an injury she has been trying to hide and ignore, in addition to a strained relationship with her family. She feels isolated and shooting hoops is the one thing that gives her comfort, a sense of accomplishment and a way out.

The book is really well written. It drew me into Alice's life page after page and kept me rooting for her as she tries to find her way through isolation to despair and then hope.

Highly recommended to young readers.

A very well written book about teens in high school, who don't have just the regular pressures of high school and growing up to deal with, but are also high performing athletes.

Alice is a basketball player with a great shot of getting a scholarship to an elite school based on her performance as the star of the team. She also has an injury she has been trying to hide and ignore, in addition to a strained relationship with her family. She feels isolated and shooting hoops is the one thing that gives her comfort, a sense of accomplishment and a way out.

The book is really well written. It drew me into Alice's life page after page and kept me rooting for her as she tries to find her way through isolation to despair and then hope.

Highly recommended to young readers.

Adorable story with nicely done colorful drawings on each page. Reinforces positive messages with a short list in the back as a reminder. This is a solid choice for a children's book and one I can easily recommend. Children need positive role models in everything, especially in the books they read. This book makes a great addition to a child's library. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion.

In this story, Puckster and his hockey team play a team made up of mascots from NHL teams. Puckster starts the game by showing off to impress the mascots, but when he realizes how is behaviour is affecting his teammates, he becomes a better team player. A cute story for kids, especially those who love hockey, with a positive message.½

Another cute story in the Puckster series. Young hockey fans will enjoy this one.

My daughter requested we read this book today so I thought it must finally be time to write a good review. However, after looking at a few of the pictures she tossed it aside again. That pretty much sums it up - it's not a book that a kid will go back to again and again. The pictures are bright but the text is wordy and she quickly gets bored with it. The storyline really isn't that catchy either. If your kids love hockey maybe they will read it for that sake but there are better hockey books out there.

A fun Christmas read for hockey fans! Puckster is excited to be the stick boy for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships. His teammates and their families will all be joining him on Christmas Day to watch the game, except a huge snowstorm closes the roads. Puckster and Team Canada will be spending Christmas all alone without their families and without a visit from Santa! Puckster tries to cheer the team up and bring back the Christmas spirit. A surprise visitor turns up and saves Christmas for the team.

This is a fun Christmas book to read with young sports fans! It will probably resonate with Canadian hockey fans the most, but all hockey fans will enjoy the story! Kids will enjoy the hockey tournament setting and it answers the question about Santa finding all children on Christmas, even those spending Christmas in hotels. The pictures are bright and fun with a mix of animals like Puckster and his friends and humans such as the Team Canada players. This is the first Puckster book I’ve read, but I like the themes of believing in yourself, never giving up on dreams, and the importance of family. I would definitely read and recommend Puckster to anyone looking for picture books featuring hockey.

I enjoyed reading Puckster's Christmas Hockey Tournament. I thought the story was simple, but would be enjoyable for young children, especially if they are really into hockey. The illustrations were bold and colourful and would grab a child's attention.

I do not have kids of my own but am always buying books as gifts for children of friends/family. This would probably not be a book I would purchase as a gift for a kid that I know, however, I did think it was a cute story and enjoyable to read.

Pucker is the puck-boy for the Christmas Hockey Tournament. The only problem is that there's a huge storm and his family and friends aren't able to come to the tournament to cheer him on. Puckster is also staying alone in a hotel for the first time and is lonely. I'm always looking for hockey stories for the kids, so I am really excited that I got a chance to review this book. The illustrations were bright and cute, so I definitely think kids will enjoy it.

The main problems I had were with the story. The character's background wasn't explained at all, so I had no idea what was really going on. This being the seventh book, the author probably didn't deem it necessary. I was also confused about Puckster himself. If he's a kid, why he was alone at a hotel. Why didn't his parents bring him and why was he staying alone in a hotel room? I just couldn't figure it out. Why can't I suspend my disbelief? Santa's giant sleigh full of family and friends along with Santa watching the tournament and high-fiving everyone. Just ridiculous! I'm sure the kids wouldn't pick up on these things, so they would definitely enjoy the book.

Puckster’s Christmas Hockey Tournament by Lorna Schultz Nicholson, illustrated by Kelly Findley, is a story about reaching your goals and remembering that family and friends are the most important parts of our lives. Puckster helps out Canada’s National Junior Team, organizing their sticks and water bottles to ensure they are prepared for the game. He’s getting ready to travel with the team for the championship game, and his family and friends are to meet him there on Christmas day.

Read the full review after Feb. 10: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2015/02/pucksters-christmas-hockey-tournament-by-lor...

This is an appealing hockey picture book. The pictures are bright and colourful, the characters are varied (with girls playing too!), and the text is not overwhelming. Young hockey fans will appreciate the technical details of the game as well as the emotional ups and downs of competition -- even with friendly opponents. Parents will appreciate the messages of good sportsmanship, teamwork, and emotional resilience.

The latest in the series has Puckster playing a game with the mascots from Canadian hockey teams. His nerves quickly disappear when he scores a goal. Spurred on by this success he hogs the puck in an attempt to get a hat-trick, only to be scorned by his team mates for not letting them have a share in the play. This story emphasizes the importance of playing as a team. The illustrations are lovely: colourful and depicting the excitement of the game and emotion of the players. I liked the variation in players: girls, boys, big, small, and disabled. It is a good example that anyone can give it a go. This book is suitable for children between 3 and 8 years old, and will appeal most to those familiar with team sports.

This is the latest in a series of hockey books aimed at young children. Here, the story emphasizes teamwork over individual star play: Puckster gives up the possibility of a hat trick in favour of assisting a teammate's goal. The hockey team is also made up of players from a variety of backgrounds; the names on the hockey shirts suggest a number of ethnicities, there is also a female player, a player on a sitting board, and so on. The drawings are very nice; the story is simple and makes a clear point, suitable for young children.