• Age: 9 to 13
• Grade: 4 to 8
• Reading age: 7 to 10

The Brunswick Valley School soccer team are not just bad -- they're terrible. They haven't won a game all season and they bicker endlessly amongst themselves. They're such a disaster that their coach resigns in disgust. When, by an administrative anomaly, they qualify for the season playoffs, the only person they can find to act as coach is their former kindergarten teacher, Miss Little, who applies the "rules of kindergarten" to the game. To everyone's surprise, they start to win. In this hilarious follow-up to Walker's Runners, a struggling team learns the true meaning of success.

A former elementary school principal, school district consultant, teacher and journalist, in England, Newfoundland, and New Brunswick, Robert Rayner now spends his time writing and teaching music. He is the author of three adult novels, nine young adult novels, and three teen novels. His stories have been shortlisted for the Ann Connor Brimer Children’s Literature Prize and (four times) for the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award, and five of them have been included in the Canadian Children’s Book Centre annual ‘Best Books’ list. He lives on the Magaguadavic River in St. George, New Brunswick.

Robert Rayner's profile page

• Winner, Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Selection

This book would be suitable for a variety of readers who like realistic fiction and sports stories. It would appeal to both male and female readers because of the subplots. Public and school libraries would benefit from having this book in their collection.
Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"I really enjoyed this book. It was really well done and has some good lessons to learn. I think this book is good for children 7-10 years old."

Independently Reviewed