Islanders A to Z Book Aimed at Teaching Isles History to Children

New York Islanders fandom gets passed down from generation to generation and with 50 years of history, there's a lot to learn for new fans.
Joe Buono, the author of
New York Islanders A to Z
, remembered being a young Islanders fan himself, going to games during the 1992-93 season with his older cousins. He saw Denis Potvin and Mike Bossy's numbers in the rafters but had to rely on oral histories from his elders to learn about their greatness and the Islanders dynasty.

This was a pre-internet era, so sites like
Isles Fix
, the Substack Buono runs,
the Islanders new history hub, IslesHistory.com
, or Hockey Reference weren't available to provide a crash course in everything blue and orange. Nowadays, there are plenty of Islanders books and websites for fans to learn the history of the team, but none are geared towards children - the next generation of fans.
BUY THE BOOK
That's where Buono stepped in, penning an A-To-Z guide about the Islanders, lifting the popular children's genre, and giving it an Islanders spin. A isn't for apple, but rather Arbour, Hall of Fame coach Al Arbour, whose 1,500 banner hangs in the rafters. B is for Bossy, D for Dynasty, N for Nystrom - and you get the idea.
"The reality is that for most of the parents that are going to these games and bringing their kids, there's a good chance they are like me and did not see those [dynasty] teams play," Buono said. "It becomes more and more important to create ways to introduce that next generation of fans not only to the team you love, but to the players and the moments and the games and the events that transpired."

Buono has a four-and-a-half-year-old daughter himself, so she is who the book is aimed for.
To make Isles history more kid-friendly, Buono enlisted the help of illustrator Joe Maracic, who goes by

on Twitter. Maracic provided the illustrations, a stylized series of cartoon graphics that give the book a fun feel. Each illustration is accompanied by a playful rhyme, which is a big source of pride for Buono.
"The reason why I wanted to do it was to connect people with their children through the sports they love," Buono said. "Our goal is to connect generations through Islanders hockey, and to fall within the 50th anniversary has some symmetry at the end of the day."
A portion of proceeds from the book will benefit the Islanders Children's Foundation. Buono has some previous charitable experience, as he teamed up with team statistician Eric Hornick, who stat-checked the book, on the It Happened at the Coliseum t-shirts. Buono said they raised over $33,000, which they donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Buono and Maracic independently published the book through Book Baby, which is for sale for 27.99. Fans can purchase the book here, or by visiting a

.
Watch: Youtube Video
The project started in September 2018, and has taken multiple twists and turns since its inception. There are plenty of chapters and illustrations on the cutting room floor, but Buono and Maracic have kept the book current, updating its contents to keep up with the team's journey. U is for UBS Arena, which was not completed at the time the duo started the book.
It was important to Buono and Maracic to spread the love throughout the different eras of Islanders hockey. It would be easy to make the book dynasty focused, but they wanted to celebrate beloved figures. That is why K is for Kenny Jonsson and W is for Ed Westfall. Q, which is for Quick, was the most challenging letter, but it was an effective way to work in Bob Bourne, which means every Islanders player in the team's Hall of Fame is in the book.
"We made sure that we looked at the holistic picture of the 50 years of the New York Islanders," Buono said. "You are going to have a complete picture for that introduction point."
Both Buono and Maracic are die-hard fans and have followed, or covered the team from the time they were kids. Maracic remembers attending Bryan Trottier's skating academy in Port Washington as a kid.

Buono and Maracic appreciated the team's support during the project and Isles media figures. Brendan Burke, the Islanders TV play-by-play broadcaster, wrote the foreword, legendary hockey journalist and historian Stan Fischler wrote the "first intermission," while radio play-by-play voice Chris King wrote the "second intermission," and Hall of Fame broadcaster Jiggs McDonald wrote the epilogue.
"We had these tremendous contributions that just gave our book so much credibility and just adds another element to it," Buono said.
The author and illustrator have been touched by the book's reception. After dedicating four years to the project, they are both happy to see it complete, but it is a little bittersweet that this labor of love has ended, at least for them. For the next generation of Islanders fans, New York Islanders A to Z will just be the beginning.