JACKRABBIT GOALIE

In one of Christopher's more perfunctory formula numbers, Pepper, who's not very tall, moves to a new town and lies about having been a soccer goalie back home so he can join the new kids' team and make friends. But after doing well at one game he fakes a sprained ankle to get out of playing in another where the opponents are reputed to be very big. It's a fish that changes Pepper's mind--yes, a spirited eight-pounder that Pepper fears will be too big for him to land. But catch the fish he does--""that fish is big too. And I pulled it in. I licked it!""--and so, hatch, he's off to beat the Giants. For new readers, it's hardly worth the struggle.