The Highest Number in the World

by Roy MacGregor (Author) Genevieve Despres (Illustrator)

The Highest Number in the World
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

9-year-old Gabe (Gabriella) Murray lives and breathes hockey. She's the youngest player on her new team, she has a nifty move that her teammates call "the Gabe," and she shares a lucky number with her hero, Hayley Wickenheiser: number 22. But when her coach hands out the team jerseys, Gabe is stuck with number 9. Crushed, Gabe wants to give up hockey altogether. How can she play without her lucky number?

Gabe's grandmother soon sets her straight, though--from her own connection to the number 9 in her hockey-playing days to all the greats she cheered for who wore it, she soon convinces Gabe that this new number might not be so bad after all.

A lovely intergenerational tale and a history of the storied number 9 in hockey, The Highest Number in the World is a must-have for any hockey fan.

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Starred Review
From the moment Grandma begins to share her past and her passion for hockey, the story's context becomes broader, more complex, and more meaningful. A memorable, intergenerational picture book perfect for sharing.

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3—Nine-year-old Gabe has been selected for the best hockey team in town, and she is its youngest member. She wore her lucky number 22 jersey for tryouts, in honor of her hero, Hayley Wickenheiser, a Canadian Olympic star. Unfortunately, when the coach passes out the new jerseys, Gabe gets number nine, and she refuses to be on the team. Grandma Gabriella comes to the rescue later that night, telling her granddaughter how it was when she was young and played hockey. They didn't even allow girls on the team—she had to pretend she was a boy until she was caught. Back in her day, everyone, including Grandma, sported number nine because that's what the famous players wore. Gabe, of course, has a change of heart . The story may have the most meaning to children in Canada, but it could appeal to young hockey fanatics no matter where they live. Despres's gouache illustrations are light and simple. The warmth between the grandmother and granddaughter as well as Gabe's initial disappointment are shown clearly in their amusing expressions. Recommended as a secondary purchase.—Diane McCabe, John Muir Elementary, Santa Monica, CA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 
Roy MacGregor
ROY MACGREGOR is the author of many hockey literature classics such as Home Team: Fathers, Sons and Hockey, Home Game, The 7 A.M Practice and the Screech Owls series. He was named a media inductee to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013, when he was given the Elmer Ferguson Award for excellence in hockey journalism. He has been involved in hockey all his life, from playing all-star hockey in Huntsville, Ontario, against the likes of Bobby Orr from nearby Parry Sound, to coaching, and he still plays hockey in Ottawa where he lives with his wife Ellen. They have four grown children. Roy was inspired to write The Highest Number in the World when his now grown-up daughter starting playing hockey as a young girl. His lucky number is 13.

Geneviève Després completed a degree in Industrial Design at the Université de Montréal, but decided instead to pursue her first passion: drawing. She turned to illustration, and worked in the fields of educational publishing, advertising, editorial, and children's literature. She then spent a few years in Europe, where she looked for inspiration and explored different techniques. Since her return to Quebec she has illustrated many books for children, including Le petit chevalier qui n'aimait pas la pluie and La grève du bain. As a young girl, Geneviève was very athletic and always picked first for school yard games--even before the boys! She still plays sports whenever she gets the chance, including Ultimate Frisbee, and competes in triathlons. She didn't get to play hockey because girls weren't offered the opportunity, but she cheers for all three of her boys (including her husband) who play. Geneviève lives in Saint-Lambert on the south shore of Montreal with her family.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781770495753
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Tundra Books (NY)
Publication date
February 11, 2014
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
JUV014000 - Juvenile Fiction | Girls & Women
JUV032110 - Juvenile Fiction | Sports & Recreation | Hockey
Library of Congress categories
Girls
Fortune
Luck
Hockey players
Hockey
Hockey stories

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