Max Explains Everything: Soccer Expert

by Stacy McAnulty, Deborah Hocking (Illustrator)

Overview

This hilarious, tongue-in-cheek guide from kid-expert Max reveals everything you need to know about the game of soccer.

Max knows a lot about soccer. After all, he's been playing it for almost three weeks! So he's pretty much an expert. Here Max shares his one-of-a-kind helpful tips including how to warm up (stretch, twirl, somersault), who's who on the field (the ref is in yellow and wears a whistle—you should not bring your own whistle), and what to do with your hands since you can't touch the ball (wave at fans, hide them in your shirt, play itsy-bitsy spider). But could Max possibly be forgetting something very important? Full of humor, energy, and warmth, Max Explains Everything: Soccer Expert is the perfect read aloud for novice players as well as for fellow "kid experts" on the game.

Want more fun with Max? Don't miss Max Explains Everything: Grocery Store Expert.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101996409
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	02/19/2019
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	778,656
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	470L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Stacy McAnulty is the author of many children's books, including Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years, Beautiful, Excellent Ed (an Ezra Jack Keats Honor Book), and 101 Reasons Why I'm Not Taking a Bath. She also writes chapter books and middle-grade novels. She lives in North Carolina with three kids, three dogs, and one husband. You can visit her at stacymcanulty.com or on Twitter @stacymcanulty.

Deborah Hocking is the illustrator of The Great Henry Hopendower and the nonfiction picture book Build, Beaver, Build! Life at the Longest Beaver Dam. She lives in Portland, Oregon, in a hundred-year-old cottage that she fixed up with her husband, Jay. Learn more at deborahhockingillustration.com.

Editorial Reviews

12/10/2018

In his second story (following Max Explains Everything: Grocery Store Expert), Max—a boy with hair like brown yarn—thinks he’s a soccer aficionado. Readers will observe that Max actually prefers finding insects and four-leaf clovers in the field over playing the game. But Max’s disinterest is no big deal; at the sidelines, the kind, gray-haired coach offers him an orange wedge and the “thousands of fans” (really only a handful) watch from the sidelines. A moment arrives for Max to show he’s got skills after all—but, refreshingly, he’s more interested in the promise of after-game snacks than in making the goal. Max is a relatable hero for readers who like being on the field but whose minds might not be entirely in the game. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book of the Year

"A simple, funny, and exciting story. McAnulty and Hocking score again." —Kirkus Reviews

"Very funny. Kids who remember—and parents who are new to experience—that first season . . . will laugh and slap their foreheads over Max’s misplaced enthusiasm, cleverly chronicled by Hocking’s mixed-media artwork and McAnulty’s wry text in the speech bubbles." —BCCB

"Sports fans and lovers of a good silly picture book will have much to cheer for here." —School Library Journal

"Max is a relatable hero for readers who like being on the field but whose minds might not be entirely in the game." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

02/01/2019

PreS-Gr 2–The "do as I say, not as I do" guidance of Max returns in this continuation of the series. Breaking the fourth wall, the titular character gives listeners the lowdown on soccer. He is, after all, an expert—he's been playing for almost three weeks! It won't take kids long to realize that Max isn't heeding his own advice. While the rest of his team prepares for the game, Max does somersaults, admires a butterfly, and empties his pockets of seashells, crayons, and other ephemera. Frequent recommendations to just "Kick the ball, Max" are roundly ignored. After all, someone has to pull up dandelions and four-leaf clovers so they don't distract the players, and that someone might as well be Max. While Max poses for pictures, watches clouds, and enjoys some well-deserved bench time, the rest of his team is playing hard. Tension mounts as everyone—perhaps listeners included—encourages Max to kick the ball, resulting in a twist ending that is absolutely Max's modus operandi. The playful, whimsical artwork perfectly complements the book's sweetly irreverent tone, while the mix of full-spread and framed panels gives this a charming comic-book flair. VERDICT Sports fans and lovers of a good silly picture book will have much to cheer for here. An endearing addition to most collections.—Abby Bussen, Muskego Public Library, WI

School Library Journal

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