Over Time
Over Time
Mr. Filbert, Prime Minister Pauline Patinage’s personal assistant, poked his head through her office door and gave a quick cough.
“Yes?” Patinage was busily going through notes on her desk. As usual, she was working late.
“There’s something on Badger Broadcasting you might want to see.”
“That’ll be a first,” PM Patinage said with a groan. Badger Broadcasting was better known for spreading conspiracy theories than anything resembling news. DJ watched it all the time.
Filbert turned on the TV. Clarence Crosscheck’s face filled the screen. A single tear was sliding down his cheek. “Those horrid kids prevented me from making new glaciers. Glaciers that could have saved the world.”
“Kids?” Patinage asked with a sense of foreboding.
The owner of BB, Billy Badger, appeared, nodding along. “Go on, you poor, poor man.”
“The Six children have duped us all.” Crosscheck held up a handkerchief to his eyes, and cried a little more.
In what author/illustrator Kevin Sylvester promises in his introduction is the final instalment of the “Hockey Super Six” series, the team members find themselves under attack by not just a regular villain, but by social media and essentially the entire world. When their old nemesis, Clarence Crosscheck, and newer enemy, Jill “Slapper” McHilhargy, team up to convince the whole world that the Super Six are the bad guys, it’s up to Karl, Starlight, Jenny, Benny, DJ, and Mo to prove that they are good—and to save not only rinks around the world, but the world itself!
Once again, hockey puns, silly supervillains, and comic-book style illustrations combine with an action-packed plot that will keep readers engaged from beginning to end while also incorporating a positive message that could lead to some great discussion. This time, though, Sylvester’s not-so-subtle message to readers seems to be about critical thinking, the power of social media, and how easy it is for media to manipulate what viewers see and believe. In no time at all, the Hockey Super Six are painted as villains just because of a few strategic interviews. It’s a great way to introduce young readers to this very real topic in a way that could resonate with them.
Fans of the “Hockey Super Six” will be pleased that this “last” book in the series features all the same good stuff as its predecessors—and I put “last” in quotes because I’ll believe it when I see it…or rather, when I don’t see it. I just don’t think we’ve seen the last of the Super Six. Check out the final acknowledgments and you’ll see why…
Allison Giggey is a teacher-librarian in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and the mother of a very DJ-like hockey player.