From Publishers Weekly
More Where That Came FromFans of Robert Burleigh's ode to basketball, Hoops, will be drawn into the soccer action from the opening page of Goal. "Score tied. Muscles tense. Ball drops. After it--quick!" Readers learn soccer terms such as "backpedaling" and "chip pass" while watching the players use the field in Stephen T. Johnson's energized illustrations.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Gr 2-6-The frenetic action of the final moments of a tied soccer game are captured visually and with quick descriptive poetry. "Players backpedaling./Digging heels./Explosions of gouged grass./Mark tight! Guard the line!" Burleigh's fast, physical lines leave readers as breathless as the young players who call frantic directions to one another as they fly across the field: "My side! Mine!" and "Watch their scorer!" and, finally, a goose-bump producing "We did it! We did it!" Johnson's extraordinary artwork is filled with movement and unusual perspectives. The choice of a pastel medium is ideal to illustrate the not-quite-focused blur of a fast-paced game. In the single- and double-page spreads, close-ups of moving body parts alternate with broader scenes showing boys and girls interacting on the field. The final illustration of the game-winning soccer ball snared in the net combined with the words, "You, me, us-/champions," says it all. This title joins a growing list of exciting sports poetry for children, including the author and illustrator's Hoops (Harcourt, 1997) and Charles R. Smith, Jr.'s Rimshots (Dutton, 1999). It begs to be read aloud.-Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
