It’s official! Eleven-year-old Sam Kerr is a fully-fledged soccer tragic! So, when the school’s annual Sports Day comes around, she is disappointed when soccer isn’t on the list of activities.
Sam goes on a mission to get her beloved game added to the program. With help from her best friends, Indi and Dylan, she petitions her classmates to create the first-ever soccer team in the history of her school. But will Chelsea stir up trouble and ruin everything?
On the home front, Sam and her siblings are organising a surprise party for their parents’ wedding anniversary. But things aren’t going to plan! And with her team’s grand final just around the corner, there’s a lot to deal with … even for a soccer superstar in the making!
Sam Kerr is the captain of the Australia women’s national soccer team – the Matildas – and a leading goal scorer for Chelsea in the English FA Women’s Super League. She burst onto the W-League scene as a 15-year-old playing with Perth Glory. In 2016 she played for the Matildas at the Olympics in Brazil, and she was the top goal scorer in the 2017 Tournament of Nations. Since joining Chelsea in 2019, Sam has positioned herself as one of the best female strikers in the world. She was named 2018 Young Australian of the Year.
Soccer fans will be pleased to see these books on the shelf. This Sam Kerr series is perfect for grade 2-4 and cover themes such as friendship, forgiveness, integrity, pride, family, resilience, and self confidence.
Honestly, I don't know much about sports, but I do know about Sam Kerr. She is such a phenomenon in Australia (and particularly as I grew up in WA, her name was one you couldn't miss!). It's so lovely to see her story represented on the page and in a way that is so accessible to children who look up to her. Bravo!
I can see this working well as a class novel and integrating it with your daily Personal and Social/Wellbeing learning.
My year 3s will LOVE these next year.
Thank you to @simonschusterau for sending these ones to me!
Im a huge fan of Sam Kerr, and reading this book makes me more determined to play soccer just like her. It shares a lot about her childhood and what she was like. While reading this book I can forget that this is how it all started out for her. A 12 year old girl trying a new sport.