The Highest Number in the World by Roy MacGregor (review)

Gabriella, who insists on being called Gabe, has just achieved her nine-year-old heart’s desire: “Today, Gabe had made The Spirit, the best hockey team in town,” dazzling everyone with a move of her own making, now acknowledged as “The Gabe.” Her joy is short-lived when the coach informs her that a number 22 jersey, the same number as Gabe’s idol, Olympic women’s hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser, isn’t available, and Gabe descends into a grand funk, burying her number 9 jersey on the closet floor. Grandma arrives for a chat with a reminder about how lucky Gabe is to play at all (Grandma had been kicked off her team when someone recognized her boy’s disguise) and an observation that Gabe’s despised number 9 has belonged to so many star players on so many teams that it has been retired and hoisted to the ceiling beams in arenas all over North America. Of course this sends Gabe back to the ice, with a dream of having her own 9 someday raised to the rafters. Després’ chipper gouache paintings nail the humor in Gabe’s drama-queen meltdown—scarlet-faced, and hauling her be-jerseyed sock monkey around mercilessly by the leg—while demonstrating through the diverse gallery of teammates just how far girls have come in the sport since Grandma’s day. Hockey never gets the same picture-book love as baseball, and when an excellent title like this comes along, scoop it right up.