GOODNIGHT, HOCKEY FANS

A hockey superfan can’t get to sleep until he tunes his radio to the big game.

Early one night, a crescent moon and a sprinkling of stars shine over a dozen houses in a small village. Inside one, a multiracial family (brown-skinned dad, white mom, brown-skinned child) watches the hockey game together, but the son’s bedtime comes before the game ends. “What if I can’t fall asleep?” he asks as they put him to bed. Indeed, he stays restless and awake, using his flashlight to illuminate items in his room. “ ‘Goodnight, hockey puck,’ he whispers.” He suddenly remembers that he has his dad’s radio and turns it on, tuning into the game. With this in his ears, he’s soon asleep, dreaming of an exciting hockey game, one in which he bursts onto the ice and seizes control of the puck. After a moment of shock, the other players give chase, too late to catch him. He shoots, he scores! “What a play! What a goal! What a game!” When his parents open the door to check on him, they see that he’s sleeping comfortably but they also hear, faintly, the sound of the radio broadcasting the game. “Goodnight, hockey fans from coast to coast.” Larsen evocatively captures a lovely childhood moment. Lee’s illustrations are nicely composed, with minimal elements and clever use of light.

While hockey fans are the most obvious audience for this book, it depicts a familiar childhood scene.