Pedro's Big Goal

Pedro #1

by Fran Manushkin, Tammie Lyon (Illustrator)

Pedro would love to be the goalie in the team's first game, but another boy is bigger--so all his friends come over to help him practice before the tryout.

Genres: Sports, Childrens, Cultural

32 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2018

About the author

Fran Manushkin is the author of more than fifty books for children, including the Katie Woo series; Big Girl Panties, illustrated by Valeria Petrone; Big Sisters Are the Best, illustrated by Kirsten Richards; The Tushy Book, illustrated by Tracy Dockray; and Baby, Come Out!, illustrated by Ronald Himler and translated into eight languages. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hooray for this new series of beginning readers, featuring Katie Woo's friend Pedro. This is my favorite of the set.

Pedro LOVES playing soccer with his friends and dreams of playing goalie. Will he make it as his team’s goalie, or is he too small? Beginning readers will enjoy this fun, accessible series -- perfect for 1st and 2nd graders.

[David Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Pedro’s Big Goal” is about Pedro wanting to be the goalkeeper for his team as tryouts are next week. Pedro is unsure but continues practicing in hopes of being chosen.
The book follows Nancy J. Johnson, Melanie D. Koss and Miriam Martinez “Through the Sliding Glass Door: #EmpowerTheReader” with the physical connection. Pedro is a spanish name with his brother being named Paco. These are traditional spanish names and very common. This allows anybody with a Spanish background to be able to see themselves in a book with names they are familiar with. They are not being represented as spanish or being any different, but as any other child you would see in another book. Pedro is playing with teammates, having a dog, and practicing with his father. The art is diverse throughout showing all characters from darker to lighter tones. Everyone in Pedro’s family is shown with brown skin, which is also very common among Spanish people. This book illustrates and contains Spanish influence without the need of having to mention it. It allows readers to see themselves, but also be relatable to everyone who may not be from a Spanish background. The want of being picked for a position on a team or practicing to get better is something everyone can relate to no matter what culture you come from. Adding characters physically different from each other allows this idea of unity and how we all can face and solve the same problem.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pedro, Katie, Barry, and JoJo's soccer team is about to have their first game but first the coach needs to choose a goalie. Pedro and Barry and some of the others are interested in being the goalie but Roddy is the biggest kid on the team and he think's he'll for sure be goalie. The others start practicing their goalie skills. Will their practice pay off?

I like that the kids practice and don't give up right away. Some of the ways Pedro gets practice are a bit funny. I like that most of the kids are good sports.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pedro really wants to be goalie for their school's soccer team, but Roddy is bigger and he says he's going to be goalie because he is the best. Pedro doesn't think he'll get it, but his friends encourage him to practice for the try outs. Not sure of whether he'll get the postition or not Pedro gives it his best while Roddy is too busy bragging and totally misses the balls he's supposed to block.

[Katherine Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny; good series for those who like Katie Woo, nice compliment to each other

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pedro is actually a buddy of Katie Woo, and his book series evolved from hers. Like Katie Woo, Pedro lives a middle-class American sort of life that centers around school and his family and friends. Like Katie Woo, his mishaps are the gentle sort that involve having your brother turn loose the bugs Pedro had captured for a school project. Like Katie Woo, it is refreshing to see a child who from a culture different from the one the typical American children's book portrays, and to not only see him, but to see him front and center.