Soccerverse: Poems about Soccer

by Elizabeth Steinglass, Edson Ike (Illustrator)

Overview

The perfect gift for young soccer fans, this picture book features twenty-two imaginative poems that capture all aspects of the world's most popular sport.

From the coach who inspires players to fly like the wind, to the shin guard that begs to be donned, to soccer dreams that fill the night, Soccerverse celebrates soccer. Featuring a diverse cast of girls and boys, the poems in this collection cover winning, losing, teamwork, friendships, skills, good sportsmanship, and, most of all, love for the game. Elizabeth Steinglass cleverly incorporates thirteen different poetic forms throughout the book, defining each in a note at the end, and Edson Ikê's bold artwork is as creative as the poems are surprising.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629792491
Publisher:	Highlights
Publication date:	06/04/2019
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	250,608
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Elizabeth Steinglass has contributed poetry to both Dear Tomato: An International Crop of Food and Agriculture Poems and The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations, as well as to various magazines, including Highlights for Children. Soccerverse is her first picture book. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where she played soccer, basketball, and softball, read many, many books, and wrote her first poems. She now lives in Washington, DC with her husband, her three children, and her sleepy cat Scout. She loves to read, write, hike, watch soccer, and spend time with her family.

Edson Ikê is an illustrator and graphic designer, who creates illustrations for books, newspapers, magazines, and posters. Woodcutting is the aesthetic basis of his work. The Smith & Lens art gallery in Mississippi, U.S., exhibited his prints in 2016. Soccerverse is his first book to be published in the United States. He lives in São Paulo, Brazil. Visit him at ensaiografico.com.br.

Editorial Reviews

Twenty-two poems celebrate, from a young person's perspective, the beautiful game that is soccer. Ikê's digitally created art is stylized and full of motion. His lighthearted illustrations incorporate some poetic fantasy elements and flourishes…Each poem uses one or more of 13 poetic forms described briefly in an author's note—something that will surely charm teachers and aspiring poets. A pitch-perfect ode to the details and delights of playing soccer.” -Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2019-04-14
Twenty-two poems celebrate, from a young person's perspective, the beautiful game that is soccer.

Two poems offer the viewpoints of a pair of shin guards—one of them left on the field by accident after the last game. A wry observation about "Fans" is spot-on: "I like it when my parents come. / I like that they are near. / But when they yell instructions, / I pretend that I can't hear." A poem for two voices in which one player speaks Spanish and one English happily concludes: "Si! Juguemos! / Yes! Let's play!" (The Spanish voice uses English punctuation conventions.) A player contemplates the difficulty of offering a handshake to an overly aggressive opposing player at game's end. Another, carded for an infraction, is relieved to have his apology accepted. Ikê's digitally created art is stylized and full of motion. His lighthearted illustrations incorporate some poetic fantasy elements and flourishes, such as an inventor creating a perfect teammate: mostly feet for a field player; hands for a goal keeper. Most of the players display a range of skin colors and hair colors and textures; a preponderance have short hair. Each poem uses one or more of 13 poetic forms described briefly in an author's note—something that will surely charm teachers and aspiring poets.

A pitch-perfect ode to the details and delights of playing soccer. (Picture book/poetry. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews

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