When he wasn't learning how to skate on the frozen Slocan River, Noah Ross of Winlaw, B.C. learned how to read by studying his collection of 1,400 hockey cards.

He learned computer programming by cataloguing his hockey cards and he learned math by studying hockey stats. By age seven, the educated-at-home son of Polestar Press publisher Julian Ross had started his own hockey newsletter.

Now father and eight-year-old Noah have teamed up for the All-Star Hockey Activity Book (Polestar $6.95), a hockey book for kids.

Noah's ideas for the book include a listing of weird hockey facts--like the time the Stanley Cup went missing for a year because it was mistakenly used as a flower pot--and original stats such as the average age at which a hockey player scores his most points in a season.

Ever wondered what's the most common name for a hockey player? What's the correlation between the average age of a team and its position in the standings? Noah Ross intends to let us know.

As well, the activity book will include a Rookie Board Game (you sleep in, you miss the team bus, etc.), reviews of hockey books and videos, new quizes and critical listings for 20 hockey card collecting shops that the Rosses have visited across Canada (each rated for prices, stock and friendliness towards kids).

The book will also feature cartoons, mazes, photos of stars, a behind-the-scenes tour of a hockey card factory, plus a report on a visit to the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame.

And so what does Noah Ross want to be when he grows up?

A soccer player.