Carlos Ramirez has always been the Strikers' best scorer. He pulls off bicycle kicks with ease, and his best friend, Tou Yang, knows exactly where to put the passes. But the state's best team, the Bandits, are coming to town, and Carlos hears that he'll have a very special fan in the stands. His uncle, a professional soccer player, will be watching his nephew's every move during the Strikers' biggest game of the year. As the pressure to perform sets in, Carlos struggles to even hit the ball, let alone do bicycle kicks. Everyone has seen that Carlos is a gifted athlete, but no one knows whether he'll shine as the centre of attention, or be blinded by the spotlight.
Carlos Ramirez has always been the Strikers' best scorer. He pulls off bicycle kicks with ease, and his best friend, Tou Yang, knows exactly where to put the passes. But the state's best team, the Bandits, are coming to town, and Carlos hears that he'll have a very special fan in the stands. His uncle, a professional soccer player, will be watching his nephew's every move during the Strikers' biggest game of the year. As the pressure to perform sets in, Carlos struggles to even hit the ball, let alone do bicycle kicks. Everyone has seen that Carlos is a gifted athlete, but no one knows whether he'll shine as the centre of attention, or be blinded by the spotlight.
High-interest sports stories certain to attract a wide variety of readers; Graphic novel format and low level text make these books especially suited for struggling and reluctant readers
Blake A. Hoena grew up in central Wisconsin, where he wrote stories about robots conquering the moon and trolls lumbering around the woods behind his parents house. He now lives in Minnesota and continues to write about fun things like space aliens and superheroes. Blake has written more than 100 chapter books and graphic novels for children.
Sports Illustrated Kids, in conjunction with Stone Arch Books,
created a series of sports related fictional comic stories for
elementary and middle school kids. The comics are designed to teach
lessons on teamwork, sharing, anger control, bullying, fair play,
disability inclusion, gender inclusion, and other lessons through a
sports framework. Both mainstream and alternative sports are
included: • Snowboarding • Baseball • Football • Basketball •
Paintball • Hockey • Skateboarding • Soccer Many of the stories
feature an overenthusiastic or even out-of-control parent or coach
who pushes a kid to be overly aggressive and win at all costs.
After a quick talk with a sage advisor they change their ways and
even apologize to the player. Okay, so it’s an ending with a
pretty-bow. I’m typically more of a fan of authentic stories rather
than teachable moment morality tales or after-school specials, but
I understand the place that morality tales play in the classroom
especially with younger kids. Considering the discussion of
bullying within schools and society recently, perhaps we need more
direct instruction on how to treat other people and behave within
society. I think these would be well played on the elementary or
early middle school level, but I suspect seventh and eighth graders
might wholly reject the titles with their eye rolling, sighing and
general sardonic teenagerness. That doesn’t mean they don’t need
the lessons or should not have the lessons, but you might encounter
resistance. The elementary level is where this series will do its
good. Classroom teachers and even physical education teachers could
use this series to help instruct kids on the complicated issues of
bullying, ball hogging, aggression, and extreme sports pressures.
Even on the elementary level we see students pushed very hard by
parents or coaches to accel, win and often hurt or punish the other
team. Learning to deal with those pressures at an early level can
help with character development on and off the field. ART REVIEW SI
Kids comics are designed like a TV sports show with stats, bios,
and after-game interviews. The whole package is designed to engage
reluctant readers in a TV-style experience. Once hooked, it can
teach them honorable sports conduct. In a further attempt to gain
entrance into modern minds, SI Kids comics use colorized manga with
simple panel layouts, which is popular among youth. AGE
RECOMMENDATION Chris’ Rating: Ages 7 and older Publisher’s Reading
Level: Grades 2-3 Publisher’s Interest Level: Grades 3-8 Lexile
levels, ATOS, and Guided Reading levels are available on all the
titles in the series. BE AWARE There are bullies and
ultra-aggressive parents, but they always learn their lessons in
the end. OTHER INFORMATION Publisher: Stone Arch Books Genre:
Sports Format: Reinforced Library Binding Pages: 56 Color: Full
color Google Previews are also available for some of the titles.
CHRIS’ RECOMMENDATION: Recommended
*The Graphic Classroom Blog*
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
