Soccer is one of the world’s most popular sports. This year the FIFA World Cup™ is being hosted by Brazil and runs from June 12 to July 13. This highly anticipated international tournament only occurs every four years. Celebrate World Cup soccer in your classroom or library with Canadian books for kids and teens.
Picture Books
Betty Bunny Wants a Goal
Written by Michael B. Kaplan
Illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2014
ISBN 978-0-8037-3859-1
IL: Ages 3-8 RL: 2-3
Betty Bunny is taking the field! She proudly announces that she will score ten goals in her first soccer game. But like most preschoolers, Betty Bunny’s ideas are not exactly in line with reality. When she fails to score a single goal, she decides that “soccer is yucky” and stuffs her uniform in the trash. Now it’s up to her family to help Betty Bunny see the value of not giving up when things get hard.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Franklin Plays the Game
(A Classic Franklin Story)
Written by Paulette Bourgeois
Illustrated by Brenda Clark
Kids Can Press, 2013 ©1995
ISBN 978-1-894786-99-7
IL: Ages 3-8 RL: Grades 2-3
In this Franklin Classic Storybook, our hero can count forwards and backwards. He can zip zippers and button buttons. He can slide down a riverbank by himself. He can even sleep alone is his small, dark shell. And he’s trying very hard to be the best player on his soccer team.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Soccer Crazy
Written by Gilles Tibo
Illustrated by Bruno St-Aubin
Translated by Petra Johannson
Scholastic Canada, 2012
ISBN 978-1-4431-1371-7
IL: Ages 3-8 RL: Grades 2-3
Nicholas is training everywhere for his first soccer tournament – in his room, in the kitchen, in the living room and out in the yard. But Nicholas is driving his entire family crazy with his ball bouncing antics. Will Nicholas’s love of the game win them over in the end? This title is also available in French as Nicolas, fou de soccer.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Early Chapter Books
Captain Lilly and the New Girl
(First Novels)
Written by Brenda Bellingham
Illustrated by Clarke MacDonald
Formac Publishing, 2009
ISBN 978-0-88780-855-5
IL: Ages 6-9 RL: Grades 2-3
Lilly and her friends have joined a new soccer team, but when Annie gets hurt, the coach’s niece, Sara, takes her place. When Lilly’s team comes up against another team, the competing team’s coach doesn’t want to let Sara play because she’s wearing a hijab (headscarf). The soccer players, tired of listening to the adults argue, head off to have a game for fun, showing the adults what really matters.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Explorers Out of Bounds
(Looney Bay All-Stars)
Written by Helaine Becker
Illustrated by Sampar
Scholastic Canada, 2007
ISBN 978-0-439-94625-4
IL: Ages 6-9 RL: Grades 2-3
A Beothuk chief takes Reese’s magical gold coin when the All-Stars travel back to the time of John Cabot. To get it back and return to their own time, they team up with Cabot for a soccer shootout against the Beothuk.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Great Play, Morgan
(First Novels)
Written by Ted Staunton
Illustrated by Bill Slavin
Formac Publishing, 2008 ©2001
ISBN 978-0-88780-770-1
IL: Ages 6-9 RL: Grades 2-3
On the soccer field, Morgan takes it easy, but Aldeen is a maniac. The team blame Morgan when they lose, so he wants to quit. If he does, they won’t have enough players for the big tournament. Morgan and Aldeen help find unexpected ways to help the team win.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Junior & Intermediate Fiction
A Different Game
(Orca Young Readers)
Written by Sylvia Olsen
Orca Book Publishers, 2010
ISBN 978-1-55469-169-2
IL: Ages 8-11 RL: Grades 3-4
In this sequel to Murphy and Mousetrap, Murphy and his three friends — Danny, Jeff and Albert — are making the transition from tribal elementary school to community middle school and trying out for the soccer team. But when Albert doesn’t play as well as he usually does, the boys begin to suspect something is wrong.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Playing Favourites
(Sports Stories)
Written by Trevor Kew
James Lorimer, 2012
ISBN 978-1-4594-0256-0
IL: Ages 10-13 RL: Grade 3
Gavin is starting high school this year, which means moving from a school with a championship-winning soccer team to a school that doesn’t have a team at all. With encouragement from his friends and grandfather, Gavin makes a deal with the football coach who agrees to let Gavin be responsible for running the soccer team. Gavin soon learns that being a good coach isn’t the same as being a good player. Readers will also want to read Kew’s Breakaway.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Soccer Sabotage
(A Graphic Guide Adventure)
Written by Liam O’Donnell
Illustrated by Mike Deas
Orca Book Publishers, 2009
ISBN 978-1-55143-884-9
IL: Ages 9-14 RL: Grades 4-5
Nadia, who plays for her local soccer team, faces challenges from her opponents and teammates. After her coach is hurt in a suspicious accident, and threats against the team escalate, Nadia and her brother must pull the team together and take a shot at the championship. This graphic novel offers a clever blend of action, mystery and soccer tips.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Striker
Written by David Skuy
James Lorimer, 2013
ISBN 978-1-4594-0513-4
IL: Ages 9-12 RL: Grades 4-5
Cody wants to get back onto the soccer field after having a cancerous tumour removed from his leg. Though it’s hard, he makes it onto the Lions team as a “super sub” — a player who never plays. But after a shakeup in team management, Cody finds himself playing more than he wants to. Cody doesn’t want to let the team down so he needs to find the courage and strength to get his A-game back.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Young Adult Fiction
Crescent Star
Written by Nicholas Maes
Dundurn Press, 2011
ISBN 978-1-55488-797-2
IL: Ages 12 and up RL: Grade 6
Avi Greenbaum is Jewish and lives in West Jerusalem. Moussa Shakir is Palestinian and lives in East Jerusalem. Both are 15 years old, fatherless and soccer players. In 2006, they are reminded of the conflict that has hung over the region for three generations. When their soccer teams face off against each other, their coaches hope the game will be a step in the direction of peace.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Forward Pass
(Podium Sports Academy)
Written by Lorna Schultz Nicholson
James Lorimer, 2013
ISBN 978-1-4594-0372-7
IL: Ages 12 and up RL: Grade 3
Soccer goalkeeper Parmita wants nothing more than to play on Canada’s National Team. Podium Sports Academy’s soccer team has a new assistant coach who may actually have the pull to get Parmita a National Team tryout, but Parmita is uncomfortable with her coach’s constant flirting and inappropriate touching.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Non-Fiction
Crazy About Soccer!
Written by Loris Lesynski
Illustrated by Gerry Rasmussen
Annick Press, 2012
ISBN 978-1-55451-421-2
IL: Ages 6-12 RL: Grade 3
This collection of bouncy poems captures the joys, thrills and challenges of one of the most popular sports today. Rhythmic, funny verses reflect the game’s energy. While some poems reveal the history of soccer, others suggest strategies to improve one’s game and yet others caution kids about keeping safe and hydrated on the field. Colourful, cartoon-like illustrations add to the humour and lightheartedness of the poems.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
How Soccer Works
(How Sports Work)
Written by Keltie Thomas
Illustrated by Stephen MacEachern
Maple Tree Press, 2007
ISBN 978-1-897349-01-4
IL: Ages 8-12 RL: Grades 3-4
Learn the properties of an ideal soccer ball, explore the arts of offense and defense, and discover techniques for delivering stellar passes, curving kicks and perfect headers every time. Contains photos, artwork, glossary and index.
Amazon
| Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Score! The Story of Soccer
(Soccer Source)
Written by Jennie Haw
Crabtree Publishing, 2013
ISBN 978-0-7787-0251-1
IL: Ages 7-11 RL: Grades 3-4
Find out how soccer originated and when the game was first added to the Olympics in this title. Providing a historical look at the sport’s development, from ancient times through its explosion in Europe to its huge popularity in North America today, this book will interest young soccer fans wanting to know more about the sport they love. Soccer fans will also want to check out Soccer’s Superstars and Winning Big, both part of the Soccer Source series.
Amazon