The Dream Team: Jaz Santos vs. the World (The Dream Team, 1)

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In the midst of this, I loved the way Jaz's family life was handled. Many kids have Jaz's experience of two parents who love their kids but don't always get along. It will surely encourage children that they don't need to blame themselves for their parents' disagreements. Author Priscilla Mante shares some fantastic books for children that just happen to be about football (among other things) – perfect for every child, whether soccer-mad or not! Although I haven’t played much football since my teen years, I still believe there’s something so special about how the world’s most popular sport brings people together from different corners of society and the world, and fosters a sense of community.

Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. This timely and heart-warming story about teamwork, self-belief and following your passions in the face of life’s up and downs is likely to score big with readers aged 8-11.She’s constantly in trouble at school and isn’t allowed to join the football team because she’s a girl and now after months of ignoring arguments between her parents, her mum has left their family home. Football is so topical and relevant at the moment. Why it is important for girls to play as well as boys? After going viral for his goal, Javier Moreno is getting too big for his football boots. He’s become a ball hogger and a show-off. With his team so close to the championships, will Javier be the teammate they all need or the reason they fail?

For debut author Priscilla Mante, football is more than a game. In this article, Priscilla writes about how football can be a powerful tool to help people understand and develop mutual understanding and respect. If you've got a little one who wants to do nothing other than play football or watch football perhaps you can coax them towards a third option: reading about it. With that in mind, we've gathered a selection of the best football books for 9 year olds to keep young fans entertained between matches. By presenting complex concepts like mutual aid and self-organisation in much simpler terms that are relatable to children, Mante highlights the importance of community in a world that attempts to deny women and girls opportunities. With a summer of football fever on its way and girls’ football growing more popular than ever, this is an empowering book with a dynamic and entertaining main character who shows what can happen when somebody leads the way in a new sporting initiative. The discrimination against Jaz as a girl wanting to be taken seriously in football (from both adults and children) feels frustrating and unfair, but Jaz is passionate and triumphant to show what can be achieved with a little determination. Some of the other girls have no interest in the sport before Jaz recruits them to the team, but the story shows how beneficial the opportunity to join in is for them each in different ways. The Author Priscilla Mante says of the book, “Girls’ football and women’s football don’t get the attention they should do and it was really important for me, through Jas, to challenge the status quo.” Felix was gifted to me": Kacen Callender shares how their experiences of exploring gender identity inspired their latest novel

During the week it’s usually early mornings. I often wake up hours before I start work, plus I’m more of a morning person anyway so it’s a good time to write. I do most of my writing over the weekends. Faced with all these problems, Jaz finds solace and comfort in putting her energy into football, the place where she can forget about her problems. Jaz also places idealistic hopes that her successes in football will mend her broken family. Jaz Santos vs. the Patriarchy All 9-year-old Megan wants to do is play football, but she isn’t being noticed by her school coach. Taking matters into her own hands, she starts an all-girl under 9’s team. The only problem is you need far more than one goalkeeper for a football match. It still feels slightly surreal to be honest! I’m not sure when it will fully sink in, but it’s been such a delight to see people talking about these characters and scenes that have lived inside my head for so long. Recently, I was tagged in an Australian bookshop where copies of Jaz Santos had just arrived. It’s always incredible to see my book in places which I’ve not yet travelled to. Equally, it’s been so heartwarming knowing my debut is in places like my hometown library, where I found most of my books as a child. Jaz Santos is the first in the Dream Team series- what can we hope to see from the rest of the series?

Families come in all shapes and sizes!": Why we need to see diverse families represented in children's books Paulo dreams of becoming a football star and escaping his life of poverty. His all-boys neighbourhood team don’t think that girls can play football, but when one of his teammates is injured, the only chance they have of succeeding is if his sister Maria steps in to save the day. This beautifully illustrated picture book provides an insight into life within a Brazilian favela and will inspire young girls to be the hero of their stories. 5. Booked by Kwame Alexander Hi! I'm Charligh, and one day I'm going to be a big star. I'm full of PIZZAZZ after all, and everyone I've ever met tells me I'm unforgettable. In a good way, I think . . . The Dream Team are a group of diverse characters, who are firmly united by friendship and football, but they all have their own distinct dreams and passions. Each book in the series will take each character closer to their dreams, but they’ll learn something even more important on their journey. The next title in the series, which centres on Jaz’s best friend Charligh, is about the celebration of difference, and embracing your true self even when you don’t fit in.As far as the characters are concerned, they were nice. Not my all times favourites, as I didn't really vibe with the MC and she was narrating everything, but nice nonetheless. Wonderfully funny, wry and determined, Jaz just can't seem to find her place in the world. With her parent's constant arguments and several of her teachers endlessly irritated by Jaz's enthusiastic and sometimes untamed nature, she's having a rough year. But Jaz knows herself well enough to know that she wants, and she's determined and clever enough to push past the NOs and a system that's intent on maintaining the out-dated and incredibly sexist norms to go out and get what she wants: a girl's 7-on-7 soccer club. And even more than that: a championship team! Jaz Santos vs. the World by Priscilla Mante is a short, middle-grade book about eleven-year-old Jaz who is obsessed with football (soccer). Jaz is finding school difficult and is being labeled a troublemaker, but things are also difficult for her at home because her parents are fighting a lot. When her mum decides to move in with her sister half an hour away, Jaz is left reeling. I've always loved attention, but at the moment, there's a teeny tiny chance I'm getting it for all the wrong reasons. Star striker Roy Race dreams of playing for professional team Melchester Rovers– sowhen he sees they are looking for players, he’s determined to catch the eye of a football scout. Roy is also a young carer who juggles his dream with the tough realities of home life. His dad suffered from loss of speech and paralysis post brain-surgery, and his mum works long hours to support the family. This is a wonderful and exciting story about family and football inspired by the original 1950s comic strip Roy of the Rovers. 4. Football Star by Mina Javaherbin, illustrated by Renato Alarcao

The Dream Team: Jaz Santos vs. The World is witty, filled with wisdom, and inspirational. While the book was written for children ages eight and up, there are many gems or quotes that I, an adult woman, needed to be reminded of. I related to many of Jaz’s worries, like the nagging feeling we’re not good enough or that we are responsible for other peoples’ emotions. Ultimately, Jaz’s story is about structural injustices and written for girls who worry that they will be judged not for their talent and hard work but for who they are. It is an important message for all of us: to believe in our excellence and undeniable talent even when the systems in which we work to be accepted continuously attempt to deny and refuse us. I don’t really have a routine, and I tend to write wherever I can, whether it’s my bed or my small desk which I put up in my living room. For me, it’s more important that wherever I work is quiet and uncluttered because I can be easily distracted. Bundi spends his days repetitively sewing football boots, but his dream is to one day play for the greatest team on earth, Real Madrid. This dream is looking further and further away as he leaves himself indebted to Dragon, the most dangerous man in Jakarta. Ten year old Jaz has two great loves: her family and football. Her greatest goal in life is to play for England but for now she has to get through Year 6, while everything in her life is going wrong.Jaz builds herself a team that starts out a bit rough around the edges with the intention of shooting for the stars. And shoot she does! It’s a fantastic story, showing kids they shouldn’t give up on their dreams, especially when they are discouraged by people with outdated ideas on what girls and boys can and can’t do. It also gives a realistic portrayal of a family breakdown through the eyes of a child. Jaz blames herself for the break up and tries her best to fix her family before eventually realising it isn’t her fault. I appreciated how the author didn’t have Jaz’s mum come home for the sake of a happy ending. This was a cute middle grade, but I really struggled with the author's writing style, which seemed a bit amateurish and immature. Not only was the main character's voice hardly that of a 10 years old, but it read like the author had forgotten what it is like to be a child. I have read my fair share of middle grades and I can now tell when the authors know how to talk like, about and to children and when they do not. I believe this was a debut, so maybe in the future this aspect will get better; I don't think I will be reading the other books in this companion series, but I really believe there's room for improvement. Jaz gets into trouble sometimes, but she can't always help it. She loves to daydream. She's a very likeable character in my opinion, with a sincere and determined heart. The six other girls she recruits for her soccer/football team are unique, all with their own ways of handling things. Readers are sure to find parts of themselves in one or more of the teammates. I did! The team wants to enter a girls tournament but is up against sports misogyny in their own school, difficult teachers, and no initial funding. They also have to learn how to play as an actual team before they can think of playing well at the tournament. The girls pull together, with all their different ways of looking at life, and start to believe that they're worthy of winning. This full-colour graphic novel has small amounts of text, with the majority of the story told through speech. This is a great option for reluctant readers who don't like the idea of chapter books. Non-Fiction Unbelievable Football: The Most Incredible Football Stories (You Never Knew) by Matt Oldfield, illustrated by Ollie Mann