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Browning breaks down ABCs of skating World champion to sign new children's book
| Source: |
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) |
| Date: |
February 2, 2006 |
| Author: |
Stacy St. Clair |
Kurt Browning didn't go looking to write a children's book.
It came looking for him.
The four-time world champion figure skater was gliding along in his
professional career when a publisher contacted his agent with a
possible book idea. They wanted him to write an ABC book on the sport
he has helped define.
Browning, 39, had toyed with private journals and blogs, but he had
never written anything for widespread public consumption. He accepted
the challenge and spent a year penning ice-related rhymes for each
letter of the alphabet.
Browning will share the fruit of his labor at noon Saturday at
Anderson's Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson Ave. in Naperville. He'll sign
copies of "A is for Axel: An Ice Skating Alphabet," before performing
with Stars on Ice at Allstate Arena in Rosemont that night.
"I didn't expect to ever write a book," Browning said. "It's amazing
how one thing leads to another."
Once he committed to the project, Browning wrote everywhere he
went. In ice rinks, on airplanes, on vacation beaches.
Wherever he went, he was dreaming up little skating-themed
rhymes.
"B is for boot. And B is for blade. Put them together and a skate is
made."
Browning also included skating facts on the side of each page,
crediting various skaters for their place in history. He pays homage,
for example, to Dorothy Hamill's layback spin and Dick Button's two
Olympic gold medals.
The book also mentions the Canadian's place as the first person ever
to land a quadruple jump in competition. The same page gives credit to
Timothy Goebel of Rolling Meadows for being the first athlete to land
three quads in a single performance.
He also made a personal nod to the future on the "L" page, which
features a poem about laces. The book's illustrator, Melanie Rose,
drew an age-progressed picture of Browning's 2-year-old young son,
Gabe, tying his skates.
Browning has been having book signings at stops along the current
Stars on Ice tour. He approaches the bookstore events like any other
performance. As he autographs books and poses for pictures, he knows
it's about making his fans happy and keeping them entertained.
"It's the same thing," he said. "It's meeting people. It's trying to
touch them during the brief time they have with you."
Browning has enjoyed the experience so much, he says he'd be willing
to try a second book.
"I'd love to," said Browning, also a popular TV commentator. "I never
really know what's going to happen next. I feel like my career has
been one big job interview."
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