A new children’s book that depicts a young girl as she plays her first hockey game aims to help all kids from diverse backgrounds see themselves represented in Canada’s national sport.
Written by author Jael Richardson, The Hockey Jersey was inspired by classic children’s hockey books but includes a diverse set of characters, inclusive language and a contemporary setting not seen often enough in children’s literature.
“I grew up watching a lot of white princesses and reading about white main characters and stories. And I loved those books. I loved those stories,” Richardson said in an interview.
“But there was also a sense that I was missing and that there was something different about me that was bad,” she said in an interview. “And I hope that this book reminds kids that there’s something about them that’s different, that makes them special.”
The Hockey Jersey, which went on sale on Jan. 17, was commissioned as part of Scotiabank’s hockey for all initiative which strives to make the sport more diverse, inclusive and accessible by removing cultural and financial barriers.
The book’s release comes ahead of Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada — the country’s biggest annual single-day hockey celebration — held in Owen Sound this year and broadcast on Sportsnet.
The project arose after the Bank conducted a review of the 150 top-selling children’s books about hockey in Canada and found that few featured a main character that was Black, Indigenous or a person of colour, or a girl. The Hockey Jersey — which follows Kareema as she plays with her team for the first time — was created to help fill that diversity gap.
“The Hockey Jersey is an important step forward in our hockey for all platform — an opportunity for children to see themselves on the page and in the game,” said Laura Curtis Ferrera, Scotiabank’s Chief Marketing Officer. “We’re on a mission to create a hockey culture where all kids feel welcome, included, safe and ultimately where they can have fun both on and off the ice.”
The idea for a storyline about a girl who was feeling nervous and awkward about being part of a new hockey team came to Richardson early on, she said.
Sports were a prominent part of Richardson’s life growing up, with her father a former CFL football player and her brother playing competitive football and hockey.
I hope that this book reminds kids that there’s something about them that’s different, that makes them special.
“I remember conversations about race, and about what it was like for him to be the only Black kid on the team most of the times, and about the challenges my parents felt,” she said.
Richardson was quite athletic too, but did not play hockey. So she enlisted the help of the hockey-playing daughter of her friend, Tracy Moore, who hosts the weekly Canadian talk show Cityline.
“I wanted to bring in a hockey player, a girl of colour to talk with her about what the sport is like for her,” she said.
Richardson met with Moore and her daughter, Eva Perron, to talk about not only the technical elements of the game and equipment but also her experiences and challenges.
“She talked really excitedly about being part of this family and really loving it, and some of the fun elements of playing with these girls that she’s on the team with,” Richardson said. “That’s where those nuances in the story came about.”
Richardson — who wrote national bestseller Gutter Child and children’s books The Stone Thrower and Because You Are — also took great care with the details of the book.
From choosing the numbers on the jerseys — 8 is a nod to Canadian trailblazer and hockey legend Angela James — to selecting the first and last names of the supporting characters, as well as the inclusive language used.
“That was probably in a lot of ways the hardest part,” said Richardson. “When you haven’t represented everyone before, there becomes this pressure to represent everybody now. This book doesn’t solve all the problems, it doesn’t fix all the lack of representation. It’s meant to move the needle a bit further along.”
Richardson teamed up with illustrator Chelsea Charles, working closely during the creation process to ensure that inclusivity was demonstrated throughout.
“That was important because so much of the work of this book in terms of changing the face of hockey is done on the illustration side,” Richardson said. “If you just look at the text, it’s really a quite universal, simple story. The project was to change the face of hockey. A lot of the magic of this book is in the illustrations.”
A free digital eBook version of The Hockey Jersey is available to download. Copies of the book can be purchased at Indigo, as well as select independent bookstores owned by persons of colour. Net proceeds from the book will go towards Hockey 4 Youth, which provides equipment, ice time, coaching and other programming to newcomer and high-priority youth to increase social inclusion.
Scotiabank will donate more than 3,500 books to public libraries and Little Free Libraries across Canada, and 5,000 books to school boards across the country.
Richardson is hopeful that The Hockey Jersey will help kids across Canada feel more included and see their potential in the sport, and beyond.
“I think about kids who play hockey who’ve always felt a little bit alone, or like no one sees them or sees them fully,” said Richardson. “I think about them reading it and saying, ‘Hey, that’s me. That’s me on the cover, or that player looks just like me’.”
