A hopeful playbook that demonstrates how the beautiful game can help protect our beautiful planet.
Learn what soccer fans, organizations, and players are doing to combat climate change.
Soccer is played in almost every corner of our fragile planet. A soccer club in Spain manufactures stadium seats from recycled fishing nets. In Nigeria, a college team installs Pavegen tiles under the pitch that generate electricity from the kinetic energy of the players’ feet. And in South Korea, Buddhist temples opened their doors to traveling fans during the 2002 World Cup—which allowed the country to host tourists without constructing hotels (which generate greenhouse gas emissions). Camlot highlights innovation and dedication, though FIFA’s many controversies go unmentioned. The book ends with a climate-focused practical call to action for young sports fans. Modern, flat digital illustrations feature bold, simplified shapes and playful, cartoonish proportions. Soft textures and added grain prevent the flat forms from feeling sterile, and simplified faces are approachable and nondescript, though diverse in skin tone. Dense, well-sourced blocks of text provide solid information and make this a nice choice for research projects, but the heavy use of statistics and potentially confusing metaphors may limit its appeal for pleasure reading.
A hopeful playbook that demonstrates how the beautiful game can help protect our beautiful planet. (glossary, sources) (Nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781779460097
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tighter focus would make this fascinating life story even more intriguing.
In this graphic memoir by sports journalist Shah, a ninth grader pursues his passion in the face of familial expectations pushing him toward a medical career, while also navigating the perils of high school social life.
It’s 1995, and Indian American Amar is desperate to meet the Chicago Bulls—Michael Jordan, in particular—when they stop by his Orlando, Florida, school. A lucky break leads him to his first sports interview, with Phil Jackson, and his tenacity takes him further, leading to multiple conversations with Shaquille O’Neal. But Amar’s luck in journalism doesn’t spill over to his relationship with his crush, blond Kasey Page (“like a mixture of Cameron Diaz, Tinkerbell, and heaven”), or his efforts to remain close with best friends Rohit and Cherian, who start spending more time with other classmates. The work relies on captions as much as plot developments to propel the story. It also follows a broad cast of characters—close and former friends, antagonists, supportive adults, and famous athletes—who appear in multiple storylines. The story accurately depicts the complexities of life as a young teen, though overlapping life challenges pull it in multiple directions, leaving some threads underexplored and hastily wrapped up. Doucet illustrates the characters using loose, disjointed outlines that give the artwork a sense of movement, and the colorful backgrounds use patterns and action lines to indicate a wide array of emotions.
A tighter focus would make this fascinating life story even more intriguing. (author’s note, photographs) (Graphic memoir. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781546110514
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An impeccably researched and told biography of Leonard Bernstein’s musical apprenticeship, from toddlerhood to his conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 25. Rubin traces Lenny’s education, musical influences and enduring friendships. Lenny reveled in mounting elaborate musical productions in Sharon, Mass., his family’s summer community. As a student, he augmented support from his family by giving lessons, accompanying singers, transcribing music and more; the narrative sparkles with details that match its subject’s energy and verve. Especially crystalline are the links drawn between father Sam’s decades-long dismissal of his son’s musical gifts and the consequential importance of mentors and supportive teachers in the young man’s life. In exploring Lenny’s devout Jewish roots and coming of age during the persecution of Jews in Europe, the author reveals how dramatically Bernstein altered the landscape for conductors on the American scene. In an epilogue sketching Bernstein’s later life, she briefly mentions his bisexuality, marriage and children. Drawn from interviews, family memoirs and other print resources, quotations are well-integrated and assiduously attributed. Photos, concert programs, early doodles and letters, excerpts from musical scores and other primary documentation enhance the text. Excellent bookmaking—from type to trim size—complements a remarkable celebration of a uniquely American musical genius. (chronology, biographical sketches, author’s note, discography, bibliography, quotation sources, index) (Biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58089-344-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
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