Reading kid's books with a 4-year-old we tend to base books on their repeatability factor. While the illustrations in this book are great, the story wasn't overly interesting. I was surprised that the hockey elements weren't until the end. Maybe young readers who live in colder climates would enjoy it. However, there is no education on the danger of walking on the lake before it's completely frozen over.

Look I have been to exactly one hockey game in my life, but I am 100% on board for a the moose, a beaver, and a bear who play hockey in this story. When the ice on the lake is too thick to go swimming but too thin to play hockey, they return home and snack, nap, and play indoors until finally, it’s hockey season. Unfortunately, they have gotten really out of shape and must condition if they want to get back out on the ice.

This book was super cute. I loved the artwork, and it was a short, simple to follow story. This is a good choice for storytime or bedtime as it doesn’t have longer blocks of text, there are tons of pictures with activity, and kids can recognize the activities and animals. It’s not out until September, but it’ll be a perfect choice for fall and winter, just in time for hockey season.

As a Canadian, I felt that I had to pick up a book about hockey. It's basically law!

Hockey in the Wild by Nicholas Oldland is a fun book about friends playing the fun and frozen game of hockey! The beaver tries to jump into the lake to swim, but the lake is frozen! He grabs his buddies and they decide to lace up their skates and go play a good old game of hockey! Unfortunately, the ice wasn't totally frozen over yet. In the meanwhile, they found other things to do until they could finally play their game!

The illustrations are cartoon-y, simple yet fun. I really enjoyed the style and felt it mashed well with the story. The beaver was the most amusing character design wise for me; he had me giggling a lot.

The safety element of not going on shin ice wasn't there, which got to me as someone who preaches safety, but maybe that could be a learning element? I wouldn't want kids to think it's funny...

Two out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

The adorable Life in the Wild trio, bear, moose, and beaver, are ready for the winter freeze so they can play pond hockey. With the long wait with way too much junk food and karaoke, will they be ready when the time finally arrives?

Growing up in the cold Midwest I have hockey running through my veins, so I can totally relate to this delightful trio as they discover the need for patience and preservice in their quest to finally play some good old pond hockey. My son and I enjoyed the fun story and illustrations and are excited to join these cute trio on all of their adventures. He especially loved bear and moose conked out with all their junk food.

Our only complaint is who won… Was it our awesome trio or team Cardinal that took home the cup?

Thank you NetGalley, Kids Can Press, and Nicholas Oldland for the gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Beaver wants to go swimming in the lake but it's frozen over! So what should he do? Call his buddies Moose and Bear to come play Hockey instead. This is a cute story that I found myself smiling at on multiple occasions. First of all, let me digress. I live in Florida. We have Hockey teams but they are mainly second nature to us. I am from New York though, so I do have a passion for it which is why this book jumped out at me. All that being said, I think the book is stylized enough where children that don't have a connection to Hockey would still think it was a fun book. Which is why I bring all of this up. It's a great example of not being exposed to something, but still being able to enjoy it.

The Artwork! Credit where credit is due: how clever! Some of these scenes, like the bear eating pizza while the moose lounges on the couch or when all three animals are halfway through the ice..those are so memorable. So is the beaver in the speedo. This is something I can see kids running to the classroom shelves and picking up to read at their desk.

Five stars! Loads of fun. A laugh-out-loud adventurous, winter romp for children (and their parents). Three friends, Bear, Moose, and Beaver can’t wait for the ice to freeze so they can play hockey. They fall through the ice after a premature announcement about readiness and head home to wait for the big day. They play, they sing karaoke, they eat comfort food. All of this makes them ill-prepared and out-of-shape to tackle a game of soccer when the ice really freezes. So, they excercise and eat healthy. At last the day comes for the the big game.

A book filled with happy, humorous illustrations that will put smiles on the faces of its readers.

Cute book and story, but the story was just eh. Not great but not bad. This would do well in communities who are always looking for more hockey books, but probably not as well in others.

I just love this series - I always know I'm in for a laugh when I see a new one! This newest installment by Nicholas Oldland, Hockey in the Wild, doesn't disappoint. The three friends - Bear, Moose, and Beaver - are back together, eagerly awaiting winter, when their lake freezes over and it's time for hockey...but the waiting is the best part for readers, as we see the silly things the animals do in their impatience. A great fun book - I really enjoy reading Oldland' books!

I read this book with my six year old daughter. We live in Minnesota so this book was relatable for us. We love hockey and enjoy getting out on the ice, but understand the need for thick enough ice to be able to walk or skate on.

This book would be a great to explain to kids about the cautions of ice and to wait for it to be thick enough to go on.

However, this book wasn’t for us. The pictures were cute, but the story was short and just alright.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I've read all the other books in the Life in the Wild series. For me, this one is the weakest. The story isn't very interesting, and although there are some amusing moments, the whole thing doesn't live up to the humour and heart of the other books.

The beaver tries to go swimming one day, only to find that the lake has frozen over. So he gets his friends, the bear and the moose, to come and play hockey with him. Unfortunately, the ice isn't thick enough for that, and they all end up falling in. While they wait for the weather to change, they do lots of other activities. Finally, it gets cold enough for the ice to thicken, and the animals can enjoy their hockey game.

I guess this might appeal to hockey-obsessed kids, but that's about it. I don't know that I'd even recommend it to fans of the series if they aren't really into hockey, because there's really not much more of a story here. The animals have to wait to play. That's about it. It's not like there's a problem for them to actually solve; patience is all that's required, and while that's a decent message, it makes for a fairly boring picture book.

This is a cute story about two things: learning patience, and most importantly, learning ICE SAFETY for frozen lakes -

Who knew there was a book for ice safety for children? Fantastic!

The safety measures are all taken in succession after a little disaster falling into the ice, and the characters learn what they should in order to have fun in a safe way.

The art is cute and the story well done. Recommended for any family living near winter frozen bodies of water, assuredly.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for an advanced reader copy for review. Honest opinion given.

POND HOCKEY STORY!
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Hi All! It’s been a while.

Times have certainly changed. When I read this children’s book, I thought that it would be a good one to share.

Posted on blog at: https://patriciamcgoldrickdotcom.wordpress.com/2020/05/02/1576/

Hockey in the Wild by Nicholas Oldland
is a bright cheery take on pond hockey with friends.

It is especially appealing to read during these COVID-19 virus days as we “stay home” and keep a recommended physical distance.


Children, missing their playtime with friends, will find it a welcome distraction.
Thumbs up, too, from this grandparent, looking forward to sharing story with a very special boy and girl in days to come.

Stay well.

Source: Net Galley — Kids Can Press cover photo

Nicholas Oldland never fails to charm and this title is no different. Sneaking in a few lessons about ice/water safety the friends manage to survive until hockey season arrives.

The Bear, The Moose and The Beaver are three lovable characters that are back in action in the new story, "Hockey in the Wild" written by Nicholas Oldland. The children's book tells the tale of these three goofy and endearing woodland creatures that are waiting for the pond to freeze to play hockey outdoors. Will it ever freeze so they can play?

The book is an excellent story with exciting turns as the main characters prepare for their winter hockey season. Our favorite part of the book is when the trio realizes that they are out of shape from eating junk food and they have to start working out again. The kids liked pointing out all of the snack foods in the illustration.

This book is enjoyable for children and adults alike and is a great family read!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Super simple book with super simple illustrations. I might pick this one up from the library but it would have staying power for our home shelves. I think preschool age children would enjoy its simplicity best.

humor, friendship, animals, children's

As much fun as the temporary digital copy is, I can hardly wait until the hardcover is out and I can send it to my hockey-freak-kids in another state! I even pre-ordered it!
The artwork is simple and fun of the animal friends who are hockey crazy and can't wait until the ice is thick enough on their pond. They laze around until it is right, but then are so out of shape that they must change that! and they do! It's a real Feel Good read for kids and everyone else!
I requested and received a free digital copy from Kids Can Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

This is the first book I've read from the "Life in the Wild" series and it did not disappoint. My kiddos thought the story was funny and they were huge fans of the funny and colorful illustrations. This is a great story for my kids to read in the winter as we wait for the warmer weather to arrive so we can spend time outside!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is a children's book. I enjoyed this book. I found it to be cute and fun. Teaching that sometimes patience pays off. Bear, moos and beaver had to wait but they did and had fun! 4 stars.

Hockey in the Wild is a really cute book with charming illustrations. It may not be the most educational, but heck, not all children's books need to be that. Reading should be fun.

This is a cute story about a bear, moose and beaver who are really excited to play hockey together and they can't wait for the ice to get thick enough. Though some elements of the story were cute (like competitive napping), I prefer to share stories with my children that have more of a moral or message and that was lacking from this one. But overall it was a cute story with cute illustrations and would be pretty easy for a young reader, age 6-8.