Author: Mia Hamm
Published: May 2006
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2 Mia’s favorite sport is soccer but she hates losing. In fact, she dislikes it so much that she quits in the middle of a game. Upset about her attitude, her siblings do not let her participate the next day. Mia learns quickly that there will be times when she will score a goal and those when she will not, but playing the game is the most fun of all. Bright, energetic cartoons depict the child’s ups and downs. Attractive endpapers contain colorful sketches of the girl progressing from birth (showing a soccer ball given as a baby gift) through stretching activities, trials of not scoring, and the final celebration of the sport. The text represents the mixed feelings of all athletes learning the game. Parents or coaches wanting a story about the joy of playing soccer without emphasizing winning or losing will find an appropriate read-aloud here. Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
K-Gr. 2. The world’s top goal scorer and three-time Olympian offers a soccer tale, putatively autobiographical, about a little girl whose tendency to stomp off the field when frustrated prompts her teammates to teach her a lesson. The text perfectly reflects a competitive child’s rage when things don’t go as desired (“Mia didn’t want better luck next time. She wanted better luck now”), as do Thompson’s expressive portraits of furious little Mia, all furrowed eyebrows and clenched fists. Hamm’s somewhat vague author’s note, in which she recalls that “while playing soccer with my family, I learned . . . how to lose gracefully,” won’t totally satisfy kids’ inevitable curiosity about whether or not this incident actually happened. Even so, young soccer enthusiasts will still be relieved to see a larger-than-life heroine reacting to frustration in a familiar way as they learn the lesson about good sportsmanship. A concluding, double-page spread features facts and photos charting Hamm’s rise to fame, and a removable glossy photo comes tucked inside the back cover. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
1 comment
Hannah Montanh
That was great just what i needed
for my project you are so smart
The world™s top goal scorer and three-time Olympian offers a soccer tale, putatively autobiographical, about a little girl whose tendency to stomp off the field when frustrated prompts her teammates to teach her a lesson. The text perfectly reflects a competitive child™s rage when things don™t go as desired (“Mia didn™t want better luck next time. She wanted better luck now”), as do Thompson™s expressive portraits of furious little Mia, all furrowed eyebrows and clenched fists. Hamm™s somewhat vague author™s note, in which she recalls that “while playing soccer with my family, I learned . . . how to lose gracefully,” won™t totally satisfy kids™ inevitable curiosity about whether or not this incident actually happened. Even so, young soccer enthusiasts will still be relieved to see a larger-than-life heroine reacting to frustration in a familiar way as they learn the lesson about good sportsmanship. A concluding, double-page spread features facts and photos charting Hamm™s rise to fame, and a removable glossy photo comes tucked inside the back cover. Jennifer Mattson