Hubert & the Magic Glasses by Candice Lemon-Scott ill Joe Spellman

Hubert loves soccer. Unfortunately, although his best friend is the team star, he is dreadful. He’s the goalkeeper and the ball always seems to find a way past him. Hubert tries, but the ball is always faster. He’s not sure what to do, and spends his waking and sleeping moments worrying about it.

Hubert sat on the bench in the change rooms and slowly put on his T-shirt and soccer boots. He was so nervous he could barely tie his laces. He was goalkeeper for Goodview’s Under 12s Able Ants soccer team; and he was hopeless.

They were about to play the Wandering Wombats, the worst team in the region. But that just made Hubert feel even worse. If he couldn’t keep the ball out of the goal with that team playing, the Ants had no chance of making it through to the next round.

Hubert loves soccer. Unfortunately, although his best friend is the team star, he is dreadful. He’s the goalkeeper and the ball always seems to find a way past him. Hubert tries, but the ball is always faster. He’s not sure what to do, and spends his waking and sleeping moments worrying about it. There’s one thing he is sure about though, and that’s that glasses will not fix his problems. Mum takes him to the optometrist, despite his protests, and he is issued with a pair of magic glasses. How can a pair of glasses turn his life around?

Hubert and the Magic Glasses is a new title from the ‘Little Rockets’ series from New Frontier Publishing. They are short chapter books for newly independent readers, designed to help the transition from fully illustrated books to longer works. There are colour illustrations scattered throughout, and text is large and widely spaced. ‘Hubert & the Magic Glasses’ explores the relationship between skill and confidence. Hubert does need help from those around him, but to really succeed he needs to take charge of his own responses. And a little bit of magic doesn’t hurt. Recommended for newly independent readers.

Hubert and the Magic Glasses, Candice Lemon-Scott ill Joe Spellman New Frontier Publishing 2012 ISBN: 9781921928246

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com