Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Hey, Coach! by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Kim Smith

Cheerful rhymes present a diverse group of small children, both genders and multiple races present, and their coach. After deciding on a name, The Sparks, the kids are ready to learn! Anyone who's ever tried to organize a large group of small children will be laughing hysterically as they recognize the chaos that ensues. Running the wrong way, forgetting what to do, stopping to check their clothes, important bathroom (and snack) breaks, all the fun of sports are here.

Although I'm not a sports fan myself, many kids of all ages are and of course I need to cover their interests in our collection! It's hard to find sports books for very young fans, even though rookie sports are super popular in our town and presumably elsewhere. I liked that the coach and umpire (a dark-skinned girl) both appeared to be teens - many of our local sports teams are at least partially run by enthusiastic teens and it's great to see how involved they get with the small kids. I strongly appreciated seeing the involvement of girls, often left out in sports books, and the emphasis on the kids learning and having fun, not necessarily winning.

Verdict: If, like me, you are trying to build a sports collection for your youngest readers (and players) this is a must-have. Both parents and children will enjoy this cheerful story of participation.

ISBN: 9781454916079; Published 2016 by Sterling; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library

2 comments:

cleemckenzie said...

With kids being so sedentary these days, I think this kind of book is an excellent idea. I want to interest my young family members in a lot of different outdoor activities. Thanks for this post.

Annette said...

I did a school visit yesterday and the teacher asked the kids how many liked to read nonfiction sports books I was amazed at the number of students' hands that shot up.