Monday morning. School Assembly day. I have to give a report on our team’s soccer match on Saturday. I have to stand up on the stage in the big school in front of everyone.
It’s the Monday after the Saturday before, when the Wiggly Worms played and lost in the final soccer game of the season. The un-named narrator has to present a report on the game and from the score – 15 to 1 – its going to be tough to present it in a positive light. But as he recalls all the elements of the game, from the parents cheering on the sidelines to the improvements made by individuals he discovers there is plenty to say about their favourite winter sport. Illustrations are full of humour. Header and footer carry a story of their own, a soccer game between a Wiggly Worm and a Rotten Rat.
Losers? is a new title in the Mates series of ‘Great Australian Yarns’. Weekend sport is part of many Australian lives and many players and their families will recognise the characters portrayed here. There’s the enthusiastic but unskilled coach, the fierce and way-too-serious coach, advice from the sidelines, the player keen to play but terrified of the ball, the player who has no clue about the rules and many others. Each is almost caricatured for effect, burying truth in humour. The narrator uncovers the real reason to play sport and it’s not all about winning. The print size is large and potentially unfamiliar words are presented in alternate fonts. Losers? is a funny and fun addition to a great Australian series for newly emerging readers.
Losers?, Pauline Deeves & Adam Carruthers
Omnibus Books 2011
ISBN: 9781862918511
review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com
This book can be pruchased online from Fishpond.