Crazy About Soccer
- Publisher
- Annick Press
- Initial publish date
- Jul 2012
- Category
- Soccer, General, Humorous
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781554514229
- Publish Date
- Jul 2012
- List Price
- $22.95
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781554514212
- Publish Date
- Jul 2012
- List Price
- $12.95
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 8 to 10
- Grade: 3 to 5
- Reading age: 8 to 10
Description
Hurray for soccer!
Anyone / at all / at all / can learn to kick a ball / a ball. A kangaroo could do it, / too, / a bigger kick than me or you but never put one / in a game ’cuz they can kick but / they / can't / aim!
This collection of poems by Loris Lesynski captures the joys, thrills, and challenges of one of the most popular sports in the schoolyard today. Rhythmic, funny verses reflect the game’s energy while offering sound suggestions for proper play.
Crazy About Soccer!, a collection full of twists, turns, and surprises, is sure to appeal to any reader who has ever played soccer, whether in cleats and a team shirt or in bare feet and—as in Shakespeare’s day—with a pig’s bladder for a ball! Wonderfully ridiculous and genuinely funny artwork complements the bouncy poems.
About the authors
LORIS LESYNSKI is a bestselling author of brilliantly funny poems, and a frequent visitor to schools where she gets kids excited about poetry. She lives in Toronto, ON.
Betty is the creation of writer Gary Delainey and illustrator Gerry Rasmussen, a cartooning duo from Edmonton, Alberta.
Awards
- Joint winner, Recommended Reads List, Canadian Toy Testing Council
- Joint winner, Best Books for Kids & Teens, Canadian Children’s Book Centre
Editorial Reviews
“A fantastic collection of clever poems about an atypically poetic subject . . . a great addition to any children’s poetry collection.”
CM Reviews, 12/12
“An ebullient collection of tongue-twisting, imagination-stretching, smile-cracking poems.”
School Library Journal, 04/21/14
“It’s the sort of book that any child is going to want to read.”
Ken Setterington, The Next Chapter, CBC Radio, 12/08/12
“This ebullient compilation of more than 50 poems will inspire and entertain soccer enthusiasts, whether they are novice or expert players.”
Kirkus Reviews, 10/15/12
“These poems demand to be read aloud—their rhythm natural and bouncy, their beat strong and their humour fun and engaging.”
Canadian Children’s Book News, 11/12
Librarian Reviews
Crazy About Soccer!
From soccer’s curious past to its possible future, from a player’s skill level to a player’s health and physical requirements, and from a player’s hopes and dreams to a player’s fears and worries, no aspect of the game or its participants is left untouched in this wonderful poetry collection. In “How Soccer Started,” Lesynski posits that having a mammoth in net was not good for the game because no one could ever score a goal, while in “Did Shakespeare Play Soccer” she imagines that anything could be a soccer ball, including a “chopped-off head, or piggy bladder.” And of course, no collection of soccer poetry would be complete without the revelation of Humpty’s real reason for sitting on the wall — he’d been red-carded!Rasmussen’s illustrations are consistently playful and endearing. Lesynski’s poems vary in length and form, nearly every one having a rhyming element to it. From the manic energy of “First-Touch Chant” to the bootcamp chant of “Pick Up Those Knees” to the building frustration of “No Favourites,” these poems demand to be read aloud — their rhythm natural and bouncy, their beat strong and their humour fun and engaging. The magic and quietness of “Moon Ball,” in which the moon slips down to earth at night to become a soccer ball for a while, closes the collection in a charming way.
Source: The Canadian Children's Bookcentre. Fall 2012. Volume 35 No. 4.
