Includes an animated short narrated by legendary hockey commentator Bob Cole
In Clancy with the Puck, the hapless-but-heroic Clancy has everything the fans love:
* He’s as skillful as Wayne Gretzky
* As charismatic as Pierre Trudeau
* And as arrogant as Don Cherry.
But when Clancy is given the chance to win the hearts of hometown fans and take home the Stanley Cup, our hero blows it in the final period.
Instead of scoring the game-winning goal, Clancy misses, and ends up driving the Zamboni!
Here’s Knowledge Network’s broadcast schedule for Clancy: Saturdays at 11:25am, after Rolie Polie Olie (Dec 1, 8, 15, 22) Mondays at 6:55pm, after renegadepresss.com (Dec 3, 10, 17, 24) Fridays at 6:25pm, after Serious Desert (Dec 7, 14, 21)
Plus, a Christmas Day broadcast at 8:55 am, after Magic School Bus.
There are some things that are just so Canadian. It should come as no surprise, then, that when Chris Mizzoni decided to write a Canadian twist on the
classic American baseball story “Casey at the Bat,” he chose hockey, our favourite national pastime, as the focus.
Clancy with the Puck is a hilarious and nostalgic tale of hockey hubris. The story is enhanced by Mizzoni’s fabulous full-colour
artwork, which reflects the original drawings on the O-Pee-Chee hockey cards. The artwork was created using Macromedia Flash 8, right from sketch to
colour, then brought into Illustrator to finalize for print ready art. The book’s timeless story and classic retro look will appeal to hockey fans of all
ages.
Hey, there’s a DVD, too!
The hardcover picture book includes a DVD with an animated short narrated by the legendary Bob Cole, whose Hockey Night in Canada play-by-play is heard by millions of hockey fans every week.
Listen to an podcast interview with author/illustrator/animator Chris Mizzoni.
In this interview with Robert Ouimet, Chris Mizzoni speaks about how the idea for Clancy was born, the process of turning an animation into a picture book, working with Bob Cole on the project and, of course, hockey. This podcast also includes snippets of Bob Cole’s narration featured on the animation.
Collect hockey cards for Clancy’s team, the Hogtown Maple Buds! A fun activity for kids (and the young at heart!), you can also even draw a hockey card for the newest member of the team ... YOU! Click here to download Clancy with the Puck hockey cards (PDF).
Download a free Clancy With the Puck hockey avatar to use on your MySpace, LJ or other profiles online. To save the avatar to your computer, right click (command and click on Macs) on the image and choose “Save As”. Then choose the location on your computer you want to save it to, and hit the “Save” button.
What were you like as a kid?
Pretty good student, always active.
If you could meet any celebrity who would it be and why?
Definitely Wayne Gretzky, I have idolized him since I was a kid.
If you had a super power what would your super power be and why?
Time travel would be cool, to go back in time and see all the hockey greats of the past play live.
What was your first job (or alternatively your most unusual job)?
I think my current job is fairly unusual, helping to create animated
cartoons for Studio B Productions.
If you were any animal what animal would you be?
I love the amazingly adaptable, cuttlefish. Fascinating creatures.
What is your most embarrassing moment?
Admitting that I love cuttlefish.
What is your favourite thing about being an author?
Getting all these fun things in my head out.
Any message for kids aspiring to be a writer?
Don’t give up. This book was over 15 years in the making.
. . .
Want to know more about Chris Mizzoni?
- Read an interview with Chris Mizzoni in The Magazine.
- Read an article on Chris (aka a Rockin’ Dada) on Yoyomama.
“Music to the ears of small fry and their elders. The accompanying DVD, an animated short narrated by hockey announcer Bob Cole, probably won't go amiss, either.”
- Globe and Mail
“This book is a modest charmer, just like its hero, and just like the ideal heroes of the game it celebrates.”
- Quill & Quire
“Canucks are getting ready for winter with the whisk smell of hockey training camps all over the great tundra in what people in the world call Canada. What a great way to warm the logs in your cabins with the release of a new hockey classic book for kids called Clancy with the Puck by Chris Mizzoni. This book dabs into the equivalent of baseball folklore but in hockey terms and delves into what makes hockey truly great in Canada. It really helps that Chris who has a unique style as an artist to make this book in the same stratosphere fame as the now classic The Hockey Sweater.”
- Sandbox World
“The amazingly beautiful new title Clancy with the Puck continues the publisher’s popular children’s book franchise [...] They tend to be of historical reflection, which interests parents and allows for a great family moment to pass on the joy of both reading and hockey. The books are always popular under Christmas trees for years to come. [...] Mizzoni doesn't miss a step, and Raincoast spares no resources, as the two teamed up to produce the most beautiful hockey book I've perhaps ever seen. The artwork and color is simply amazing, and appeals to both adults and children. For the very young the artwork tells its own story, allowing youth to fall in love with books and with reading and making their own stories up as they flip the pages.”
- Joe Pelletier’s Hockey Book Reviews
“Chris Mizzoni’s Clancy with the Puck is a visual treat. [...] Mizzoni is particularly adept at creating the feeling of movement and excitement of a hockey game. Clancy, the main character, is depicted as talented, brash and cocky - a quintessential hockey player. The audience, the seventh player, is also given its appropriate due. Cameras flash, and fans cheer, chant and cry.”
- Canadian Review of Materials
CHRIS MIZZONI (Vancouver) works at Studio B Productions, one of Canada’s most successful independent
animation houses. His hockey memorabilia collection includes an actual seat from Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens and an autographed stick from the 1963
Maple Leafs.
Listen to an podcast interview with author/illustrator/animator Chris Mizzoni.
In this interview with Robert Ouimet, Chris Mizzoni speaks about how the idea for Clancy was born, the process of turning an animation into a picture book, working with Bob Cole on the project and, of course, hockey. This podcast also includes snippets of Bob Cole’s narration featured on the animation.
Listen to an podcast interview with author/illustrator/animator Chris Mizzoni.
Collect hockey cards for Clancy’s team, the Hogtown Maple Buds! A fun activity for kids (and the young at heart!), you can also even draw a hockey card for the newest member of the team ... YOU!
What are Clancy’s team colours? If you wished Clancy (or his rivals!) wore, say, pink instead, now’s your chance... 
Download a free Clancy With the Puck hockey avatar to use on your MySpace, LJ or other profiles online. To save the avatar to your computer, right click (command and click on Macs) on the image and choose “Save As”. Then choose the location on your computer you want to save it to, and hit the “Save” button.)
