Football fever 1: The kick-off by Kristin Darell

This is the first in a four-book junior fiction series developed with Football Australia (the second title Half-time Heroes is also available now) and written by broadcast journalist Kristin Darrell. There are two feature characters, with alternating chapters picking up the perspective of each. Kyra plays for the Under 11s Merridale Fever and being on the soccer field is the only place she feels truly alive. She lives and breathes soccer. Her club has a wonderful community spirit: people from the town turn up to watch and get involved and they all even pitched in to turn an abandoned building into a cosy clubhouse. In the second chapter we are introduced to Sam, similarly passionate about soccer, who has just moved to the area from England. But Sam's nervous...he's never played in a mixed soccer team before, with boys and girls sharing the field and he doesn't know what to expect. He's also unsure how to play against the girls. Can he go as hard as he normally would? To Kyra it just looks like Sam isn't trying and she doesn't want anyone on their team who doesn't give it their all. Can their teammates help to set things right by showing Sam that girls are just as capable as boys and will Kyra stop being so hard on him?

Kids who love soccer will adore this, as it is heavy on detail about their training drills, soccer skills and gameplay description. It also drops big names and even characters from the world of soccer, such as Sam Kerr and Joel King. It cleverly uses both girl and boy main characters to keep it relevant to all and introduces a mixed playing field where everyone plays alongside each other and are of equal value. The soccer heroes the children look up to are also both women and men. This is a lovely story that shows how sporting clubs and teams can be like family and provide a real sense of belonging.

Themes: Soccer.

Nicole Nelson