September Book of the Month

 The book of the Month for September is Marcus Rashford's  'You are a champion: how to be the best you can be.' 

Marcus is perhaps best known as a football player with Manchester United and the England national team. He also initiated a campaign to end child food poverty. In this book he shares stories from his own life and offers tips to enable you to be happy being you and gives advice to help you achieve your goals.

If you would like to borrow this book, please see Mrs Aitken in the Library.

Book of the week 8th September

'Over the line' by Tom Palmer is set in the trenches of the First World War and is based on a true story. From the blurb: "It's the proudest moment of Jack's life - his debut as a professional footballer. Now he has a chance to achieve his dream of playing for his counrty.
But it is 1914 and the world is at war. Talk of sportsmen's cowardice leads to the formation of a Footballers' Battallion and Jack has little choice but to join up. The promise of a Cup in Flanders offer a glimmer of hope, but Jack and his team-mates will have to survive a waking nightmare if they are ever to play again."

For more information about the inspiration behind the book and some footage of a football match from 1914 visit Tom Palmer's websiteIf you enjoy this book you would also enjoy 'Soldier's game' by James Killgore which tells the story of a Hearts of Midlothian player who is also sent to the front during WW1. To hear James Killgore talk about the book click here

 

Euro 2012

Just when I thought the football season was over, along comes Euro 2012! So for those of you who cannot get enough football, or need something to do in the breaks between games, the Library has a display of some wonderful football fiction. For a quick read why not try:
The boy with the lightning feet by Sally Gardner - Timmy has amazing athletic ability but lacks confidence until his grandfather, a parrot called Sheriff and an eccentric trainer come to his aid.
If you prefer something with romance as well as football you might like Over the moon by G.G. Eliot. Ella is a member of the football team and is used to being treated as one of the boys. How will Ella react when she gets a makeover to attend a charity ball and suddenly her teammates see her in a different light?
For a football thriller Mal Peet's Exposure is set in South America and looks at the impact the media can have on the lives of people whether famous or not.
For a quick read with a historical emphasis there is Billy the kid by Michael Morpurgo. Billy was picked to play for Chelsea in 1939 but World War II got in the way. Now eighty Billy remembers the tale of his past glory.

Football Books

The football season is over, for some of us that might be a good thing, but for those of you missing your footie why not catch up on some football-related reading. Choose from both fiction and non-fiction reads.

Keeper by Mal Peet is a fictional story set in South America and tells the story of El Gato (the Cat) who rose from humble beginnings to become a World Cup-winning goalkeeper, and the mysterious Keeper, his mentor, who haunted a football pitch deep in the forest.

Golden girl Grace by Narinder Dhami (who also wrote Bend it like Beckham) is the story of teenager Grace who is the star striker of her football team. But Grace is having to grow up fast, her parents are divorcing and she has discovered - boys! What will she do when her father decides to move away? Will she move or is the football team more important to her than she realises?

If you want to improve your football skills whilst there is no football to watch try Football by Clive Gifford which gives you a step-by-step guide to essential football techniques - tackling, shooting, defending and heading are all covered.

See these books and more

on display in the Library.

World Cup

The 2010 World Cup kicks off this weekend in South Africa. Why not select a football book from the Library display to read between matches? There are both fiction and non-fiction books to choose from.

Score! is a book of short stories selected by Alan Durant. Inside the book you will find stories with a sports theme by authors such as : Jan Mark, Jacqueline Wilson, and Malorie Blackman to name but a few.


Or, try The kick off by Dan Freedman a book about Jamie Johnston who is desperate to be his school’s star football player and how he succeeds against the odds.