SOCCER EXPERT

Max is happy to share his expertise about the most popular sport on the planet: soccer. He claims to know a lot…but does he really?

Max has been playing soccer for three weeks now; he is a self-proclaimed expert, eager to share his knowledge. Max sure seems to know a lot about the game: the right equipment to use, the warm-up routines, the huddles with the coach and teammates, the referees….Yet he also has a propensity to be sidetracked by everything else happening on and around the pitch: the dandelions and four-leaf clovers growing on the field, the ladybugs and worms wandering in the grass, the fans taking pictures; even the clouds in the sky distract him from the most important part of the game for a soccer player: kicking the ball and scoring goals. His teammates are desperate for him to join in the action: “Kick the ball, Max”; “Max, the ball”; “THE BALL, MAX!” Will all the encouragements work? For Max however, it doesn’t really matter: Soccer is all about having fun and meeting new friends. In this second in the Max Explains Everything series, McAnulty reteams with Hocking, together creating a congenial character whose inattention is largely redeemed by the palpable enthusiasm and passion he shows for soccer and the smile he sports throughout the game. Lively illustrations on two-page spreads do justice to a simple, funny, and exciting story, depicting the reality that Max’s narration elides. Max’s team has players who present both male and female; curly-haired, light-brown–skinned Max, though gendered male on the jacket flap, narrates the text without pronouns, allowing multiple interpretations.

McAnulty and Hocking score again.