Ivan and the Dynamos - Softcover

Bowman, Crystal

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802850901 ISBN 13: 9780802850904

Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co, 1997

Synopsis

Although eleven-year-old Andy is unhappy when he does not get the hockey coach he wants, his new coach uses a model approach to the team that brings Andy one of the greatest experiences of his life

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Andy Anderson, 11, is unhappy when he learns that he's been traded to Coach Lou Richards's team in the Squirt division of his local hockey league, but his anxieties soon prove unnecessary. Coach Lou dreams up the idea of giving his players scary Russian names, and turns out to be every boy's ideal: a big-hearted, patient, high-spirited guy who never blows his stack and who ends the season with a pizza party at the local bowling alley. While Coach Lou might sound too good to be true, he blends in nicely with the rest of the too-good-to-be-true realm; except for the references to rap music and in-line skates, the setting bears little resemblance to contemporary America. Bowman is at her best when describing the action on the ice, but the rest of this reads like a sugar-coated fantasy: Andy's family--parents, cute younger sister, athletic older brother--moved across town last year for a reason that defies reality for most readers: to be nearer the tennis club where Andy's brother plays. Andy's parents, with their straight-A, church-going son, are infinitely patient; Andy's pals are tagged with names like Mike Hanson, Jamie Jones, Duffy Conners, Billy Peterson, Denny Smith, and Jimmy Cleaver, and none of them emerges from the pack. (Fiction. 9-11) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-6. Narrator Andy Anderson, 11, looks forward to the start of a new hockey season, only to find himself traded to another team. At first, this is a devastating blow, but Andy's parents convince him to approach the new team with an open mind. The boy soon finds himself playing for a brilliant, but unconventional coach whose first action is to have everyone on the team (called the Dynamos) come up with a Russian name, since Russian players are the best. Andy chooses the name Ivan, hence the title of the book. With Ivan as an alter-ego, he finds new confidence in himself and his playing. The rest of the book is a straightforward account of the Dynamos' successful season, featuring plenty of fast-paced, play-by-play action of their key games. Bowman's strength is in showing how the coach manages to forge a team spirit among the players; the author also does a believable job with the first-person narration. Although there is little here that's particularly notable, young sports fans will no doubt find it an enjoyable read.?Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0802850901
• ISBN 13: 9780802850904
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 148