Bibi Belford
Middle Grade, 195 pp
About the Book
Sandburg has big summer plans. Win the 3v3 Tournament trophy, then escape for a long-awaited vacay on his grandparents’ ranch. But when he’s left behind at soccer camp while his family visits his sister’s doctor, everything unravels. He really wants to follow his dad’s advice, “Do better to be better,” but as disappointments pile up, it seems like me-first is a better option. That decision sets in motion a disastrous chain of events that even Zander, his amazing superhero-loving roommate, can’t prevent.
My Review
Suprises are usually excellent or not-so-great; it turns out many of the surprises in almost-fifth grader Sanburg Zaproski’s summer are of the not-so-great variety.
Soccer camp would have been the coolest thing for Sandy, if
it hadn’t meant missing the family annual vacation to Grandpa’s Texas ranch.
Meeting new kids and working on soccer skills would have been completely
awesome if Sandy hadn’t drawn the fearsomest opponent in soccerdom, the one who
strikes fear in every kid’s heart because of his height and abilities. A head
taller than every kid his age, Sandy, who’s tasked by his father to see with
empathy eyes, starts to look deeper at the people around him. Lessons at camp
come as another unwelcome surprise when he realizes he’s not as good of a
player as he thought he was. Sandy has a lot of growing up to do, and once he
realizes that other kids have similar quirks and fears, he’s slowly learning to
be more forgiving.
Until it comes to his younger cousin, Max. When Sandy gets home from camp, squirrely squirt Max seems to get all the attention and praise and treats that Sandy used to get. When Max turns out to be the surprise last-ditch choice to play in a very special soccer tournament Sandy and his friends Zoya and Cole have entered, it’s up to Sandy to find Max’s superpower and decide whether to use it to help the team.
Belford’s wonderful young characters beautifully take the story and run with it. Sandy frequently addresses the reader, drawing us deep into his opinionated actions, sometimes blaming us and sometimes calling out excuses for his behavior. We’re learning and growing social skills right alongside him. When Sandy gets upset at the unfairness of life, he lets us know with a sentence like, “Steam that could roast corn escapes from the top of my head.” When his family tries to surprise him, he says, “I try to remember how to smile. Lift the corners of my lips…stretch them out towards my ears like a guard dog’s muzzle before it bites an intruder.”
Filled with many wonderful quotable quotes, like “chuck in the bucket and move on,” and “an ant has no quarrel with a boot,” as well as wonderful vocabulary words Sandy teaches his audience, like “intimidation,” Soccer to the Max is a delightful story for both the entertainment and character lessons. Highly recommended for any age.
About the Author
CROSSING THE LINE, and ANOTHER D FOR DEEDEE. Bibi starting writing books because her students told her they couldn’t find books they liked. She wants her books to challenge kids to make a difference in their world and be everyday heroes. She lives in a high rise building in Chicago, Illinois and when it’s nice writes on her balcony. She enjoys reading, gardening, beach-bumming, and making her grandchildren laugh. Bibi works part time substituting at Bennett Academy and as an educational consultant and trainer. She also volunteers two days a week at a CPS public school. Some of her credentials include: B.A. English, K-8 Illinois teaching certificate, Reading endorsement, ESL endorsement, and a Masters of Bilingual Literacy. She is a member of CWA – Chicago Writers Association, SCBWI-Illinois, and has served as a panelist and speaker at the UW-Madison Writers’ Institute.
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