Those of you following the FIFA Women’s World Cup (as a women’s college soccer player, I know that I am!) will know that this week is a BIG week for the USA Women’s team! Tomorrow, they take on China in the quarter-finals. While China has yet to defeat the US in their past three World Cup attempts, Team USA will be heading into tomorrow’s game without two of its best midfielders, Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe, so it should be a good game! (For basic information on the game of soccer and the World Cup, click here.)
In honor of the excitement, here’s a list of Scholastic books about soccer that you and your child can mix into your summer reading this weekend and log towards the #MondayMinutesGoal!
What's your favorite book about soccer?
Stacey the Soccer Fairy by Daisy Meadows: This book is first on the list because, come on, who doesn’t love fairies?! And secondly, because everyone knows that you can’t play soccer without a soccer ball. So when Rachel Walker and best friend Kirsty Tate gear up for the big Compton and Tippington soccer match, they panic when they find that all of the soccer balls are missing! Jack Frost and his green goblins are out to sabotage the girls and their fairy friends once again, and it is up to Stacey the Soccer Fairy to track down her magical soccer ball before both the fairy and human Olympics are ruined forever. Can she do it? (Cue Jaws theme song).
Maya and Miguel: Soccer Around the World by Tracey West: When the twins meet professional soccer player Eddie Johnson, Maya and Miguel get their own taste of the World Cup by learning how soccer is played all around the world. Filled with tons of soccer trivia, this book is a great combination of sports and education. ¡Muy caliente!
Frankie vs. the Pirate Pilagers by Frank Lampard: Frankie and his teammates loved soccer before, but when an old soccer ball at a carnival brings them to a new world with new competitors, the Pirate Pillagers, they appreciate the game on a whole new level. The first in the Frankie’s Magic Soccer Ball series certainly has me hooked- I don’t know about you, but any soccer ball that can transport me to a magical world of soccer is a soccer ball that I am using. Put me down for that carnival.
Tangerine by Edward Bloor: A soccer treat for you YA readers, this book follows Paul Fisher as he emerges from the shadow of his older, football-playing brother (hands up if you’re a second child too). Paul participates in his own sport, soccer, and his uniform includes a pair of dark lenses due to a mysterious eye injury that left him legally blind (keep your hand up if you’re impressed). Though visually impaired, his family’s move to Tangerine, Florida finally allows Paul to see the truth behind his teammates, his brother, and his own past (both hands up if you’re now TOTALLY intrigued).
Happy soccer reading! Who knows, parents, your child may even be the next Alex Morgan or Mia Hamm. Go Team USA!
- Scholastic intern Megan Greineder
