Product Description
Four-time world champion and professional figure skater Kurt Browning replaces his boots and blades with pen and paper in "A is for Axel: An Ice Skating Alphabet."From holding an edge to laces and hooks, Kurt glides and dances through the alphabet explaining the history, techniques and memorable moments of the sport.Melanie Rose captures the excitement visually with her colorful, playful illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Skating and the Alphabet - Kids Love it
Kids love this series of books.A is for Axel hits home as I have three skaters - two of which are working on learning their alphabets and words.The side bars have been an hit to my older skater who can read.I watched a lot of Kurt Browning competing back in the day - stand up guy.Nice transition to the written world.I recommend highly for a good fun read.

Wonderful
This is another of the aphabet series of books. Being a figure skating fan, and Kurt Browning is one of my favorite skaters, I was captivated by his book. This is written for the fairly young child, but the sidebars of information for the more adult gives good explanations of the different moves of figure skating. Very enjoyable to read!

Interesting Book
I never knew Kurt Browning could write such a book! It is filled with details and some history of the sport. I really enjoyed this book, but I thought it could've had something written about how to do an axel or something like that but it is a very, very good book. ... Read more

Product Description
Young players will refer to these instructive "how-to" guides again and again. Superguides are incisive "how-to" books that answer every question a young sports enthusiast might have! These comprehensive guides in vibrant new jackets and under the new Superguides series title are perfect for young athletes. Young Enthusiasts, the original best-selling series, sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Superguides give valuable advice on everything from suitable clothing to strategy development. Each book includes detailed information on rules, objectives, scoring, and much more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Superguides: Ice Skating
I loved this book! I think that every skater should read this book! I fell in love with skating though this book. Of course, I liked skating before I read this book, but this book showed me that skating was for me!

Techniques and Advanced Skills
Skating on Ice began hundreds of years ago as a way to get from one place to another. The focus of ice skating today is definately more for entertainment, however natural ice rinks form in countries with exceptionally cold winter weather and you can skate outdoors for exercise.

In Toronto and Canada, large areas are flooded during the winter months to make rinks and skating is one of the most popular sports in Canada now. Some of the first World Championships were held in outdoor rinks and for me, ice skating outdoors is ideal. I dream of skating down a frozen lake and did skate as a child on a frozen lake once.

My holiday dreams for the winter are now focusing on a place with an outdoor rink. I say all this to say: Introducing a child to ice skating can give them much pleasure later in life. My parents would drop my brother and I off at the ice rink and we never wanted to leave. My brother taught me to skate backwards which I was very proud of!

This is a sport the whole family can enjoy if parents can find the time to take their children for this fun activity. In this wonderful introduction to skating, children will learn what they will need to be comfortable and warm. I didn't realize an ice-dance blade was different from a free-skating blade. Now, that is information I could have used as a child.

A Warming up section shows children how to stretch to prevent injuries. If you remember your first steps onto the ice, the next section will be very valuable. What happens if your child falls in the middle of the ice rink? If no one is nearby...the picture they show is fine, but if skaters are whizzing by...I would tell children to keep their fingers folded in as they try to get back up. Sometimes you can get knocked back over just as you are getting up, has happened. ;>

This section shows children how to step out onto the ice, how to fall safely, do dips and how to scull. Skating forwards is the basics, but they go into Crossovers, the snowplow, stopping by using a T-stop and a hockey stop. Skating backwards and not falling is exhilirating!

The step-by-step intructions are all illustrated by real skaters. How to place your weight and on what leg is very important for balance. Did you know that edges are the foundation of ice skating? This is what allows skaters to skate curves and circles. Once the forward and backward skating has been mastered, you can move on to turns and then to jumping on ice. I would recommend ice skating classes for sure, however this book will allow the skater to read all about what they are learning in class. It seems to me it would be difficult to learn to do jumps from a book and I don't recommend it.

They do say: "Seek professional coaching before you attempt any of the moves." A glossary gives insight into the language of ice skating. You can look up a sit spin or a waltz hold or even a bunny hop. All I have to say is...why am I here writing a review when I could be skating. ;> I have my eye on a 3-way convertible skate by Hypno (Fila Manufacturer) that has ice blades, inline skates and a boot that detaches. It looks perfect for outdoor sports when you want to put on your shoes and then go outside. You just snap on the wheels or ice blades. If anyone has them, write me and tell me if they are comfortable.

Enjoy this book, it is so informative and will really get you or your children out on the ice! There is nothing cuter than "mini-skaters" with their parents out on the ice. My dad used to skate with us as children. I do miss all those fun times, but that must be why we have children so we can relive our own childhood through the eyes of a child. This is an exciting book on a sport so many love.

I highly recommend this book to any child or adult who wants to find out the basics and all the extras of skating.

~The Rebecca Review

Ice Skating made easy and understandable
Learning to skate is made easy by this guidebook.Everything in iceskating has to do with precise control over edges and clear control overyour body.Many times you might feel out of control when you begin toskate.Not only does this guide help you feel more secure as a skater, youbenefit from clear illustrations of skating moves. I've seen and purchasedother guidebooks, but this one is clearly the best. ... Read more

Product Description
As the ice skating competition approaches, Coach Barbie helps Jane learn that ice skating is more about doing one's best and having a good time than it is about perfection. ... Read more

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A handbook for beginning ice skaters that describes the equipment, skills, and movements necessary for skating for pleasure or in competition. ... Read more

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Part of a series integrating photographs and a simple text to give a "behind the scenes" look at popular sports. Ice skaters give a personal insight into the training, special preparations and techniques needed to compete successfully, and a fact section examines the sport in detail. ... Read more

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A sister and brother learn the basic skills of ice skating and advance to earn their first skating badge from the Ice Skating Institute of America. ... Read more

Product Description
Mia St. Clair has grown up playing ice hockey with her three older brothers and has the skills she needs to become a star hockey player.But she's tired of skating in her brothers' shadows and has decided to pursue her passion for figure skating instead.With the help of a new coach, Mia finds out whether she has what it takes to grow and compete as a figure skater. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Mia-Book Review
I was very happy with the book.It was in great condition and it was received in a couple of days.

Mia: An American Girl
I thought this was the best girl of the year american girl books i have ever read!!! Its about a girl named Mia St.Clair who was born in a hockey playing family, but Mia's big dream is to become a skater. When shes asked to perform at the winter show, shes got a lot of practice and learning to do. This is a wonderful book and i recomand it.

Another wonderful American Girl story book
Great story about a modern girl who loves hockey and figure-skating.A++ read for 3 generations in our family!

WONDERFUL
I loved this book. I am personally a figure skater myself so I could relate to the book. This book is about a young girl named Mia who is trying to do her best at her sport. This is a good book for girls.

Wonderful Book!
This is a great book for girls of all ages. I have read almost every american girl book ever made and this is definatley a winner! Mia really comes alive in her first book and unlike most books these days her character grows and learns. I would definately recomend this book! ... Read more

Product Description
Discusses the variety of ice skating sports featured in international competition, including figure skating, free skating, speed skating, and ice hockey, with advice to interested beginners. ... Read more

Product Description
Scott Hamilton is one of the most beloved figure skaters in the world-not just among his colleagues, but to the sport's countless fans as well. So when the Olympic gold medalist and four-time World Champion launched his "Stars on Ice" tour back in 1986, everyone wished him the best. In fact, the best is exactly what he got. Hamilton's "Stars on Ice" has become the most successful ice skating tour on the planet.In this lively look at figure skating's most remarkable success story, Stars on Ice features full-color illustrations of the graceful skaters who have entertained fans throughout the show's reign. From Dorothy Hamill to Brian Orser, from Katarina Witt to Kristi Yamaguchi, Stars on Ice beautifully displays the talents of Olympic and World Champion skaters through stunningly realistic photography. In addition, behind-the-scenes vignettes from the tour reveal the heartfelt camaraderie and sense of family felt among the skaters. From the tour's early days of opening night fiascoes to the tragically unexpected loss of Sergei Grinkov to Scott Hamilton's own battle with cancer, Stars on Ice tells a tale of a sport that has touched fans like no other. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Breath taking..
This book was what i expected it to be.It was full of colorful pictures, and very good description of how Stars on Ice evolved to what it is now. GREAT pictures excellent story....though if u were thinking of getting thevideo "The Best of Stars on Ice" ... it wasnt good at all.Theywere performances from the last 5 years and not the 10 years it talks abouton its back cover..

Excellent work about how Stars On Ice evolved into The Tour!
Reason why I bought the book: Just one. Rosalynn Sumners. She was rather reluctant when Scott called her and invited her to join the tour......and that was back in 1986. Thirteen years and a few hundred shows later, Rozhas matured into one of the finest entertainers on the ice. Her departurefrom the SOI tour after the 1998-99 season was rather sad, but rereadingher thoughts and feelings on subjects such as Sergei's death to Scott'scancer and her own shining moments was well worth the money I paid for thebook. Roz, I'll miss you when SOI starts the 1999-2000 tour. God bless!

Great photos
This book has lots of great photos pf all the skaters. A must for every SOI fan.

Brings You Close To Katia and SOI!!
I thought this was an absolutely fantastic book!!! It really gets you up close and personal with the World's Greatest Skating Tour, and I loved the chapter in tribute to Sergei Grinkov. Lots of terrific pictures from allthe programs through the years!! It starts out with the story of how StarsOn Ice got started, and tells about the earliest skaters, all the way up totoday's performers (like my favourite, Katia Gordeeva). This book is amust-have for any fan of SOI and skating in general. You will definatelyhave to see the show in person, after this book!!!

did not reach potential, but not bad either
First, as in nearly all figure skating books these days, the photography is excellent. The photographs will make the reader rush out and buy tickets to Stars on Ice. The chapter about the tragic death of Sergei Grinkov is asmoving as one would expect. However, the family feeling of Stars on Ice didnot shine through out the entire book. In most chapters it was a shallow,superficial coverage of this unique tour. It could have been so much more. ... Read more

Product Description

The ponies are having an ice-skating party, and each pony plans to share a special skating trick. But Pinkie Pie doesn't even know how to skate! Will she be able to learn in time for the party?

Customer Reviews (1)

Cute book!
My daughter will love this book for her 5th birthday.She hasn't seen it yet, but MLP and LPS (littlest pet shop) are her 2 favorite toys. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

good book
My book was in a good condition. And is just exactly what i was looking for. thanx!

from one of the best
i think the book is great and i have been awarded several medals and trophies in skating. it has a good technique for beginingto professional. the best of the best!!!!!!

I wish there is a two-and-a-half star rating
Like my title says, I wish there is a two and a half star rating. I have read better skating books than this one, such as " Figure Skating For Dummies" and "The Essential Figure Skater". This book is too vague in some parts of the book and too much information in the other parts. Not a very good guide to figure skating. The beautiful pictures of famous figure skaters are the best parts of this book.

To much covered not enough info!
This book is only 128pgs and covered to much with to little info. With everything covered this book needed to be at least 300pgs. Over all worth reading.

Excellent book for illustrating skating moves!
This book provides step by step illustrations of a range of skating moves from beginners to advance. The placement of the foot patterns is easy to see with arrows to show direction. As a level one freestyle figure skater, I find that the book is missing directions on beginning movements, warmups, and preparation for jumps and spins.Advanced skaters find this book extremely helpful in learning to perform double and triple rotations in jumps and various spins. Written instructions are provided to assist skaters at all levels. ... Read more

Product Description
"Nice Skates," an ice arena on the very edge of the Pacific Ocean, was holding the Pacific Coast Championships in December, 1994. It was the qualifying competition for the 1995 Nationals. Many great skaters were in attendance, as well as some very important judges. One was from the Nice Skates' home town of Portugal, California, Judge Melissa Elizabeth Nottingham.

Then, just minutes before the start of the final round of judging for the Senior Ladies competition, Judge Nottingham is found dead in the pros' room sitting by the fireplace in a Queen Anne chair.

It's the last night of competition with a rink jam-packed with 5,000 spectators, parents, coaches and competitors (many of whom did not like Melissa Elizabeth). The final event is ready to start, and Berrien has a murdered "Judge" on her hands.

Berrien is a skating coach as well as the co-owner of the ice arena. She found the body—the second at the rink in less than two years—and becomes involved, once again, with the county sheriff deputies including tall, handsome and short-tempered Sean Mather.

Skating episodes and an intriguing murder investigation crown this new addition to the Nice Skates Ice Skating Mystery Series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An ice skating judge gets murdered.
"Judge Me Nottingham" is the story of an international ice-skating judge who was found murdered in the pro's room just prior to the start of the last qualifying event for the 1995 U.S. Nationals. And based on what the TV public has seen in the "Competitors Scores" over the years, my opinion is that one could easily deduce that many of the skaters might dream of such an event. And the "Scoring" at the last Olympics adds more to the book's intrigue.

This book nicely follows Book 1, "Nice Shows" and continues with the adventures of Berrien Gamble, ice skating coach, ice show producer and co-owner of the "Nice Skates Ice Arena." Again, Berrien and her faithful dog "Kristi" are heavily involved in another murder investigation. I'm not surprised because of Berrien's investigative nature.

This book is a great follow-up to "Nice Shows." Please note: this reviewer believes that the series title change is appropriate, as "Nice Skates Ice Arena" is the place where the "Murders" occur and Berrien is again the adventurous amateur sleuth.

I recommend this book very highly. ... Read more

Product Description
Do you love wating top ice skaters perform? This book shows you how to get started and leads you through the basic moves on top skating superskills. ... Read more

Product Description
Offers a tantalizing insight into the glamorous, thrilling world of skating. With a foreward by World Champion Figure Skater Todd Eldredge, this detailed guide introduces basic techniques and steps before moving in to more advanced skills. Photographic sequences explain how to skate forwards and backwards, jump, spin and more. ... Read more

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Text and photographs present the skills, equipment, and safety concerns of ice-skating. ... Read more

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(Ages 6-9) Day and night, Callie Cat ice skates on the pond in her backyard. She loves to ice skate, loves it more than chocolate cake, more than going to the mall-more than her friends can understand.That is, until the Honeybrook Ice Rink announces a contest, and everyone thinks it could be Callie's big chance!Now Callie practices day and night. She wants to win the big prize...doesn't she?

Sometimes doing something you love is its own reward, as Eileen Spinelli's unusual story demonstrates. Anne Kennedy's exuberant art shows a unique heroine in motion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Do what you love...because you love it!
"Callie Cat, Ice Skater"
Written by Eileen Spinelli
Illustrated by Anne Kennedy
(Albert Whitman & Co., 2007)
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Do what you love - because you love it!A nice story with a nice message, about a young girl (an anthropomorphized cat) who loves ice skating, gracefully gliding on the frozen pond near home anytime she can.When a skating contest is announced, her schoolfriends urge Callie to enter, and convince her that she just *has* to win.Although she becomes nervous, after Callie sees several other contestants fail, she starts to believe that, hey, maybe she will win!And yet, first place goes to another girl, and Callie is crushed. On the way home, her parents are appropriately supportive, telling her that what matters is that she tried her best, although her friends emphasize how disappointed she must feel.Callie keeps quiet, though, and the next day, she puts her skates back on, and goes back out on the ice, once again skating just for fun.This book deals with several important issues in a nice, gentle way -- peer pressure, learning to be resilient and deal with failure, and also learning to appreciate and enjoy things just for what they are, not for what they can get you.A nice parable for parents and kids dealing with competitive sports and other intense, passionate interests.Recommended! (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain children's book reviews)

Perfectly captures the feeling of doing what you love
I bought this for my 6 year old daughter who has a passion for skating.As another reviewer said, the first time I read this to my daughter I actually cried at the end! This book truly captures the feeling of doing something for the pure joy of it.Although it is written about ice skating, the feeling it describes and the wonderful message of the book will ring true to people outside the sport.

Callie Cat, Ice Skater
I purchased this book for a 10 year old who loves skating and cats.The story and illustrations are wonderful.The message is heartfelt.I highly recommend this book to beginning skaters, who skate for the joy of skating.

What a wonderful wonderful book!
Just loved the illustrations and particularly the message of the book which is "Do it for the sheer love of it!".

Callie Cat, Ice Skater
This is the second time I have given the book "Callie Cat, Ice Skater" as a gift. It is an adorable story with a wonderful, non-preachy message, "Winning is not always the most important thing. Sometimes we need to do something for the sheer joy of doing it!" MAJ ... Read more

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