Soccer

K-Gr 2—Designed to appeal to the youngest readers, this series introduces popular team sports. The short chapters give brief overviews followed by key elements of the games. Each spread consists of a full-color photograph of multiethnic children engaged in the sport and a few sentences. The back matter includes tips on good sportsmanship and staying healthy, along with fun facts. "Words You Know" sections match essential words with a corresponding picture. The flow can be choppy and there are some flaws: the "Getting a Run" section in Tee Ball switches gender midstream ("The batter is safe if she gets there first. She stays on first base. He goes to the next base if his team gets another hit."). While these are adequate introductions, "Jump into Sports" (The Child's World, 2010) is a better beginning-reader series.