Soccer Beat - Hardcover

Sandra Gilbert Brüg grew up in Massachusetts and received her B.S. in early childhood development from the University of Massachusetts and her M.A. in human development from Pacific Oaks College in California. For twenty years she was a teacher, director, and advocate in the field of early childhood education and she now works full-time as a poet and children's librarian. She lives with her family in Bozeman, Montana.

Soccer Beat is Sandra's first book, which she was inspired to write while watching the amazing feet of her neighborhood elementary school soccer players.

PreSchool-K-Rhymed couplets describe various animals playing soccer. Readers will enjoy listening to the pulsing beat as the players "Kick it move it/zig-/zag/slide. Dressed in cleats/they spin/and/glide." The plot is thin; the book's strength is in Moseng's bright and colorful watercolor artwork of cartoonlike creatures that are shown from a variety of perspectives. Children can watch the action from beneath the tall giraffe's legs or nose-to-nose with the warthog goalie. Text shows movement and is scattered around the action of the game. The final page names the different animals on both teams; however, they are listed by shirt number, which is often not discernible. If Julie Mammano's Rhinos Who Play Soccer (Chronicle, 2001), Anne Rockwell's Morgan Plays Soccer (HarperCollins, 2001), or Jonathan London's Froggy Plays Soccer (Viking, 1999) flies off the shelves, then supplement your collection with this title.
Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
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