A story of resilience for the fútbol-obsessed.
Ted Lasso actor and soccer player Fernandez tells the story of a young fútbol enthusiast who learns to balance his myriad interests.
Whether in the house, at the market, or on the field, Cristo is never without his soccer ball. “That ball is stuck to you like bubble gum to a shoe,” Mamá says. When a knee injury forces Cristo to take a break from playing, Abuelita cheers him up by taking him to the market (sans ball), and he proposes that the family all make tamales together. This positive experience opens him up to trying other new things, like dancing with his younger sister, and when at last he returns to the field, he brings tamales to share with his teammates. The messages in the final pages are direct (“Because fútbol matters, but other things matter, too”), and the subject matter might resonate more with somewhat older readers who play sports competitively than with the typical younger picture-book audience. Still, even these readers understand the disappointment of missing out on a favorite activity, and Cristo is an appealing character; he’s upbeat but has moments of disappointment, indicated by dark backgrounds and sad expressions, rendered in colored pencils and ink, painted digitally. Like the author, Cristo is brown-skinned and apparently Latine. This bilingual tale presents English text in black, followed by a Spanish translation in red.
A story of resilience for the fútbol-obsessed. (author’s note, childhood photos) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9798225012274
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
An absolute pleasure.
A small dog takes a huge leap.
True to her name, sled dog puppy Leap spends her days bounding happily through blankets of freshly fallen snow, bouncily biding her time until she, too, can suit up for a run with the team. Each dog brings a different, equally essential skill to the work of mushing, and as too-young Leap greets the pack when they return from their daily hike, she worries—what if she lacks a special talent of her own when it’s her time to race? But when the much-anticipated day arrives and Leap clips in for her rookie run, her feet tippity-tap excitedly, any trace of self-doubt eclipsed by her irrepressible enthusiasm. With their new addition in tow, the other dogs take off, buoyed as ever by a confidence borne from specialized expertise; they confront obstacles head-on, sailing easily along icy Northwoods terrain. That is until the team encounters a seemingly insurmountable hurdle, one that only their greenest member can clear. Dogsled racer Braverman’s sweet narrative builds a satisfying case for individuality as a community asset, celebrating both the value of teamwork and the discrete strengths that comprise it. Savvy readers will take pride in predicting Leap’s unique contribution, while canine lovers will delight in the revelation that the pups depicted are all real-life sled dogs working in northern Wisconsin. When’s illustrations are equal parts spellbinding and precious, deftly balancing compositional simplicity with masterful color work. The result is peerless.
An absolute pleasure. (author’s note) (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9780063238053
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
It’s a slam dunk
Lucy discovers that the way to learn to play basketball is with friends on a neighborhood court.
Lucy loves playing in the park, and one day she and her friends join their friend Ava and her cousin in their new favorite sport: basketball. Pro player Jermaine, aka “Coach J,” teaches all the basics—footwork, quick passes, dribbling, and a variety of shots. But he also encourages the players to keep trying when they miss, stresses the value of teamwork, and focuses on fun as they learn and later play a practice game. At the end of the workout, Coach J invites the young players to watch him and his team play. Written in loose rhyming couplets, the text has many near rhymes and inconsistent meter. While the storyline is predictable, the book is a good introduction to basketball terms, and young basketball players and fans will appreciate reading about themselves. Vivid silhouetted figures against a white background portray male and female players of several races; Lucy herself is white while Ava and Coach J are black. One young player competes from a wheelchair. A half page of backmatter explains the history of basketball, the NBA and its players, and wheelchair basketball, and one entry also explains the three-on-three basketball that the children play. The book publishes in a simultaneous French edition translated by Rachel Martinez.
It’s a slam dunk . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1697-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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