Happy Like Soccer
Book - 2012 | First edition.
A warmhearted story about a young girl who finds a way to bring together the two things that make her most happy- soccer and her family.
Nothing makes Sierra happy like soccer. Her shoes have flames as she spins the ball down the spread-out sea of grass. But nothing makes her sad like soccer, too, because the restaurant where her auntie works is busy on game days and she can't take time off to watch Sierra play. On game days, her auntie helps Sierra get ready and tells her, "Play hard and have fun." And Sierra does, but she can't help wishing she had someone there to root for her by name, and not just by the number on her uniform. With honesty and rare subtlety, author Maribeth Boelts and illustrator Lauren Castillo portray an endearing character in a moving, uplifting story that touches on the divides children navigate every day- and remind us that everyone needs someone to cheer them on from the sidelines.
Nothing makes Sierra happy like soccer. Her shoes have flames as she spins the ball down the spread-out sea of grass. But nothing makes her sad like soccer, too, because the restaurant where her auntie works is busy on game days and she can't take time off to watch Sierra play. On game days, her auntie helps Sierra get ready and tells her, "Play hard and have fun." And Sierra does, but she can't help wishing she had someone there to root for her by name, and not just by the number on her uniform. With honesty and rare subtlety, author Maribeth Boelts and illustrator Lauren Castillo portray an endearing character in a moving, uplifting story that touches on the divides children navigate every day- and remind us that everyone needs someone to cheer them on from the sidelines.
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Publisher:
Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press, [2012]
Edition:
First edition.
Copyright Date:
©2012
ISBN:
9780763646165
Branch Call Number:
JP Boelt
Characteristics:
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 24 x 27 cm
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Add a CommentSierra is very excited to be playing soccer on a new team. It means she plays on a field with no weeds or holes and the goal is real and not made with garbage cans. But she also dreads playing soccer because she has to play on Saturdays. That means her aunt can't watch her play. Her aunt works Saturdays and can't ask for time off for her niece's soccer games.
Sierra's story is one of urban life with her aunt and leaving once a week to the glory of intense play and fun of soccer which she revels in far away from her apartment building in a dense urban dwelling. Yet, even though she knows her aunt is working, she can't help looking over to the sidelines where families watch their kids on their blankets. She doesn't understand the jokes her teammates tell on the way to the games in a car that picks her up from her home.
This is a moving story, about the giddy excitement of a young girl, her love of soccer, and about being different from others but celebrating it all the same. The reader will share in her excitement. It will become easy to see why it's so contagious given both Sierra's dedication to the sport and the special relationship she has with her loving aunt.
It's a story certain to uplift readers and make them beam. Any aunts in that readership will be beaming most.