Erin Dealey

Since November means #hockey, and we had such fun

celebrating Angie Bullaro’s debut picture book BREAKING THE ICE,

(Simon & Schuster / Paula Wiseman Books / Illus. C.F.Payne)

why not kick off the season with Part 2 of her interview?

BREAKING THE ICE is a nonfiction picture book about Manon Rhéaume, the first and only woman to play in the National Hockey League. (top photo, R) In fact, she broke the gender barrier in hockey from the peewee leagues on up.

In a recent article on NHL.com, Manon talked about the messages of the book:

“I think the message is for anyone to follow their dream…If you’re passionate about something, if you work really hard, you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.”

“The other message is that you don’t need to fit a mold to do something you really like. I was probably the total opposite of what an NHL goalie should look like — my size, my gender — but I got the opportunity. I didn’t let anything stop me from doing what I loved most. I was given the opportunity to challenge myself at the highest level and I went for it.”

Which brings me to these 6 questions for

BREAKING THE ICE author Angie Bullaro:  

Q 1. How is being a goalie like writing a book? How is it different?

Angie Bullaro:  They’re the same because they both are insanely difficult and take a tooooooon of practice, a lot of mistakes, and loads of hard work. They both require incredible mental strength and fortitude too.

They’re different because no matter how many stories I’ve written, they never come flying at my face 100 miles an hour!!! Ha!

Both Manon (lower L) and Angie (lower R) were interviewed on The Morning Show Canada in celebration of their book launch.

Q 2. Circling back to one of the themes of BREAKING THE ICE: Do not give up. Have you ever felt you needed to hear those words –as an author? Or as your younger self?

Angie Bullaro: Oh geeze, almost every day! I always wanted to be an actor and a writer but I grew up in East Detroit where that was not what people did. Everyone thought I was crazy, or more accurately – they thought I was foolish. I had to remind myself on daily basis not to give up, no matter what others said, no matter how difficult it was or how many years it would take.

It’s been a long journey and there have been hundreds of times I didn’t think I’d make it or wasn’t good enough to make it. Especially during those times of self-doubt it’s important to remember not to give up. I believe anything is possible if you work hard and don’t give up!

Making Every Word Count

Q 3. We picture book authors know that every word counts. And I read how you focused only on certain areas of Manon’s journey in this book. What’s one of the scenes that was hard to cut?

Angie Bullaro: Deciding at what point in her life to stop at was difficult. Playing in the NHL was this extraordinary thing, but Manon continued to do incredible things after 1992 like play in the minor’s and actually get paid to play and to be a part of the first women’s team to go to the 1998 Olympics when women’s icy hockey was first accepted as a winter sport. She has led such an amazing life.

Bullaro stars as Manon in the film Between the Pipes, which was the inspiration for their picture book.

Q 4. How does your experience as an actor influence your writing?

Angie Bullaro: I’m always thinking about action. Like a movie, a book needs action. And so I see things in scenes and how an actor would perform it. It helps me to see what moves the scene along and what is boring to watch (i.e. read).

Interior art by C. F. Payne BREAKING THE ICE, S&S Paula Wiseman Books 2020

Q 5. What do you hope young readers will take away from BREAKING THE ICE?

Angie Bullaro: Dream big. Work hard. NEVER give up.

ED note: You heard her, friends: 

Dream big. Work hard. NEVER give up.

Q 6. What question do you wish I’d asked? 

Angie Bullaro: Honestly, the questions you’ve asked are very different from ones I’ve been getting recently so I’m not sure I have an answer for that. Maybe what food do I dislike the most? The answer would be peas. Please no one ever send me peas. J

Ha–got it!

To learn more about Angie Bullaro and her awesome book BREAKING THE ICE

check out AngieBullaro.com and follow her on Twitter @AngieBullaro and Instagram @angiebullaro.

Up next, a guest post by debut author Megan E. Freeman on

What To Expect When You’re Expecting…a book!

Until then…you know the drill:

Be safe!