A is for Axel: An Ice Skating Alphabet

by Kurt Browning, Melanie Rose (Illustrator)

Just in time for the 2006 Winter Olympic comes this exciting new spin on the ABCs Join four-time world champion figure skater Kurt Browning as he glides and dances through the alphabet, explaining the history, techniques and memorable moments of the sport.

Genres: Sports, Picture Books, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

First published December 15, 2005

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 STARS As with most books in this series, not amazing literature but serves a useful purpose. Some of the letters are a stretch. Some of the rhymes feel a bit forced or awkward. But, it does offer a decent amount of information about figure skating, from figure skating history to present-day (well, present-day 2006), including information on equipment, training, various moves (such as explaining the different types of jumps and spins) and and some of the most notable figure skaters. While I'm generally not a fan of "celebrity authors", I do I appreciate that it is actually written by a figure skater as he has that real-world experience to share (also, I was a huge figure skating fan back in the '90s and Kurt Browning was one of my very favorites!) The rhyme segment can be read with pre-K but the side bars offer the detailed information and are more suitable for elementary ages. Illustrations are fine but nothing that really wow me. It was nice sharing this with my kids during the Olympics and we made a lesson out of it by studying about the physics of figure skating afterwards:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc...

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In rhyme from A to Z, Kurt Browning (better skater than rhymer) takes the reader through the highlights of ice skating. Each point has more detailed information in side bars. Very interesting, and beautiful illustrations.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars I like this alphabet series ..some of the letters are a stretch but I get it it! You can just read the story part or you have the margins that are almost a book in themselves!

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kurt Browning is one of my all-time favourite skaters, so how could I resist this book (autographed, no less).

The information is really interesting to this non-skater, but I can’t help but feel this book would be so much better done in partnership with a Canadian poet. The expertise of a poet combined with Browning’s skating expertise and the lovely illustrations would have knocked this out of the park.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

there is so much to love about this book
the beautiful illustrations, the extra info about the skating world, the vocabulary used for the a-z

[Robin Raines-Bond · Rating 3 out of 5]

This whole series of Alphabet books is nicely done. You can read the shorter story on the main part of the page, and you can also read the more in depth story in the margin of the page. Nice illustrations.

[Rose]

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