Jac (short for Jacqueline) Jones loves football. She can talk about nothing else. She eats, drinks and sleeps football. And, despite being a girl, she plays football for the under eleven team. When Jac gets the chance to be the mascot for her favourite football team, the Wolves, she thinks all her dreams have come true. She will run onto the field with the Wolves and she’ll get to meet all the players, especially her hero Steve Steen.
Then disaster strikes. Jac chases a ball onto the road and is hit by a speeding car. When she wakes up three days later with a broken leg and arm, she realises she has missed her chance to be the Wolves’ mascot. She’ll never get to meet Steve Steen and she may never play football again. Things turn around, though, when Steve Steen himself pays her a visit in hospital. The two are soon firm friends.
Who said Girls Can’t Play Football? is a fun read for 10 to 12 year olds. It is nice to see girls playing (and being good at) less traditional sports, and to see other pastimes such as chess given a look-in as well. The importance given to family and friends (new and old) is another positive dimension of the book.
Who Said Girls Can’t Play Football is a sound read for classroom or private reading.
Who Said Girls Can’t Play Football, by Judi Pope
Macmillan Education, 2004