World Team [Hardcover]

Tim Vyner (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Series: Single Titles

"One big round world, one small round ball. Right now, more children than you can possibly imagine are playing soccer." In England, it's 1:00 P.M. and Joe is practicing outside his school. In New York City, it's 8:00 A.M. and Lucy dribbles the ball in and out of the shadows. From India to Brazil, from Italy to South Africa, kids are kicking balls aruond on fields, beaches, and streets. This handsome book takes readers on a journey around the globe and through the world's time zones, creating a team of children who share the samedream: glory in the world's most popular game.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-A concept book that addresses time zones while emphasizing the universality of soccer. Through a minimal text and illustrations of youngsters playing and practicing the game throughout the world, Vyner points out that a girl can be kicking a soccer ball in New York City at 8:00 a.m. while halfway around the world a boy in Japan may be watching a televised broadcast of the World Cup at 10:00 p.m. On each spread, the right-hand border labels the country and the time. However, there is no logical order to the sequence. For example, the first three time zones visited by readers are l:00 p.m. in England, 2:00 p.m. in Italy, and 10:00 a.m. in Brazil. Vyner's intriguing watercolors over two-page spreads depict youthful bodies in angular kicking poses that move against backgrounds ranging from rural landscapes to urban billboards. A slight concept; for only the most avid soccer fans.
Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

School Library Journal

 

Vyner’s intriguing watercolors over two-page spread depict youthful bodies in angular kicking poses that move against background ranging from rural landscapes to urban billboards.

 

 

Bulletin, Center for Children's Books Starred Review

 

“One big round world, one small round ball.  Right now, more children than you can possibly imagine are playing soccer”–such as the opening page’s bronze-skinned boy in baggy blue shorts, who contemplates the goalpost on a sun-bleached soccer field that could be anywhere on earth.  Elsewhere at the same moment other World Cup hopefuls are perfecting their moves in some very specific places: “England / 1:00 p.m….Joe is playing soccer outside his school.  He practices every afternoon.  ‘And when I grow up, I’m going to be a professional!’”  A continent away in Lebanon, it’s 3:00 p.m. and Sami buys a drink from the ice seller in the ruined stadium.  ‘Imagine what this place was like in the old days,’ he says.  ‘And think of all the people inside.’”  Vyner checks out the action on six continents, and the random order of his visits only serves to fire imaginations with a sense of common interest, even purpose, that unites the footballers.  Geography and math teachers should fairly leap at an inviting opportunity to introduce time zones and their calculations, but kids in blissful ignorance of the International Date Line will simply appreciate Vyner’s sprawling watercolor scenes of a Calcutta street emblazoned with crayon-bright murals or a Japanese boy’s bedroom bedecked with posters and paraphernalia familiar thousands of miles away.  There’s no need for ham-handed one-glorious-world pedantry; it’s crystal clear that setting is only a piquant detail in a common dream.

 

 

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (May 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761324097
• ISBN-13: 978-0761324096
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,152,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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