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Find out moreA you a fan of the beautiful game? We have a range of fiction and non-fiction books about football, football teams & inspirational players.
Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award 2017 - Best Books with Facts The authors of this very entertaining book claim that there’s no better way to learn about the world than through football. Hence it is divided into ‘lessons’ – biology, history, physics etc – each of which is packed with fascinating football related information. Business studies looks at footballers’ wages, why they’re paid so much, and where the money comes from; zoology considers famous club mascots; drama looks at goal celebrations ( the Oscar goes to the Icelandic team of Stjarnan and it’s well worth googling them to see why). There are lots of diagrams and cartoon illustrations throughout too and as a football/trivia/information book this is really hard to beat. ~ Andrea Reece
Powerful historical novel based on the real-life experiences of footballer Jack Cock during World War I and the little-known history of the Flanders Cup. It's 1914 and Jack is making his debut as a pro footballer. But his first match is marred by a demonstration demanding that the teams sign up to do their duty in France. Word of the Footballer's Battalion and a cup in Flanders provides a glimmer of hope that Jack can keep his dream of playing for England alive. But as the war drags on, Jack is thrown into a nightmare world he will be lucky to survive. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 10+ To find out more about Over the Line, young soldiers in the trenches and football throughout the war visit www.readingwar.co.uk. This is a new website, from Barrington Stoke, specially dedicated to literacy and World War One. MD Mairi Kidd says “Over the Line is a hugely important title for us both because it marks the centenary of the First World War and because it approaches the conflict through the lens of football – and we know that many young people who are reluctant to read find sport an enticing hook." There is a wealth of information for readers and teachers, with links to further research and a quiz to accompany the book - plus a fascinating introduction to Over the Line from the author, Tom Palmer.
Shortlisted for the CLPE Children’s Poetry Award (CLiPPA) 2017 | Nick is football mad, finding more poetry, more to stimulate him on the soccer field and with a ball at his feet than he ever does in books. This doesn’t go down well with his father, a linguistics professor with ‘chronic verbomania’, but at least his best friend understands. Cody and Nick are on opposing football teams but the same side for everything else, including facing up to the school bullies. When he’s hit by the twin blows of an injury and the news that his parents are separating however, Nick is surprised to find real comfort in books. Booked is written in free verse, like the author’s previous novel The Crossover, and the form brilliantly catches the energy and ups and downs of Nick’s life, giving his story an immediacy that helps make this irresistible reading. If Booked sends readers looking for more verse novels Sarah Crossan’s The Weight of Water is also excellent while Patrick Neate's Small Town Hero is great on football and teen life.
The joy that football brings around the world and its very special ability to link communities is celebrated in the beautiful photographic illustrations to this book. Wherever there is a ball – of any kind from simple and home-made to shop manufactured, someone will love to play football with it. And, just as quality of the ball doesn’t matter, neither does the surface of the ground the game is played on. Across beaches, fields, streets or anywhere else where the ground is mostly flat, football joins people around the world together. Translated by Sean Taylor.
A fantastically funny collection of hundreds of the most hilarious football jokes around! Perfect for football fans to enjoy in between those all-important World Cup games, Premier League matches and European Cup finals.
A handy pocket-sized paperback book packed with skills and tricks to improve technique on the pitch. Covers all areas of playing the 'beautiful game', from the basics of attacking and defending to the complexities of making a perfect corner kick and obeying the offside rule.
Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2013 - Best Book with Facts | In personal jottings, photos and pictures, this scrapbook brings alive a pioneering black footballer and British officer in the First World War who lived outside the limitations of his age - from Walter's childhood in an orphanage through his footballing years at Spurs and Northampton to the Western Front, highlighting the Christmas Day Truce of 1914, Walter's officer training - pipe, moustache and all! - ending with his death on the Somme, his memorials and his legacy.
April 2012 Book of the Month A boy, an alien and football - without any shadow of doubt it's a match made in heaven for boys in particular and if you have a reluctant reader in the house aged from 6-9 then you just might get him or her reading as a result of EEEK! Apart from the storyline being a real page-turner it's also laugh-out-loud funny. Just how and why a football mad alien turns up on Charlie's doorstep one day and stays with him will have you in stitches. Eeek may be fluorescent green with smoke coming out of his ears but just like ET he's a wonderfully loveable alien, but this time for the 21st century. By Theo Barker - aged 7: I loved the football in this book and I also loved the alien because he was so funny. The alien is just like a human boy apart from being tidy because he loves football and gets very excited when he is watching the matches. He is very good at hiding himself so only a few people know that there is an alien. The book is very funny and mummy was even laughing when she was reading it and we were all shocked by the surprise at the end. I will definitely tell my friends about this book - it is great. If you've enjoyed Eeek, then check out the author's other story for 7+ year olds called The Secret Lake.
Red Banana Books are for newly fluent readers so if you have a football mad youngster who you’re struggling to persuade to pick up a book, then this one is perfect. Plenty of humour and with illustrations on every page, some of which include speech bubbles for added fun, the story is guaranteed to build confidence and it’s a story that they’ll then come back to time and time again. Seamus is the protagonist in the story; he’s football mad and when he finds a whole load of ghosts who say they’re bored he decides to help them form a football team. They’re so good they might even win the World Cup!
Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2010. Prize-winning author Patrick Ness follows up The Knife of Never Letting Go with equally hard hitting The Ask and the Answer. Trying to escape, Todd and Viola fall into the hands of Mayor Prentiss. Separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd can tell there are some deep and dark secrets outside the town. Who are the mysterious Answer? As gripping as The Knife of Never Letting Go, this is a tough but compelling story which takes readers into shocking and moving territory. Winner of the prestigious Costa Children's Book Award 2009 - the judges acclaimed it as “a major achievement in the making” Shortlisted for the Teenage Book of the Year Award 2009.
