The World Game: Soccer Circles the Globe
From a park in the United States to a pitch in India, from the seaside in Nigeria to a stadium in Uruguay, there’s one game that brings the world together. Whether you call it football, soccer, or any other name, it’s the most popular sport on the planet.
Follow a fast-paced soccer game around the globe, moving to a new location with each turn of the page. The game includes early morning in Chicago, USA; a nighttime matchup in Shenzhen, China; an early evening game in Kochi, India; and a midafternoon match in Lagos, Nigeria. Journey through time zones and around the globe as kids everywhere use their feet to dribble, shoot, and score all the way through to the final goooooooooal!
Author John Coy and illustrator Phùng Nguyên Quang collaborated across an ocean (and multiple time zones!) to create this action-packed celebration of the power of sport to unite people worldwide!
The Horn Book
This lively celebration of soccer (known by other names in different countries) spans the globe, showing fictional children in various locales simultaneously playing the sport. Each colorful double-page spread transports readers to a specific location, kicking off in Chicago and then bouncing around the world. Since the book also serves as a look at time zones, a time stamp accompanies each scene. Kids compete in the morning in Winnipeg, Canada; the afternoon in Mombasa, Kenya; and at night in Shenzhen, China. The text breathlessly describes the fast-paced action during each game, with young players kicking, heading, and dribbling the ball with impressive athletic skill. A refrain (“The earth spins. The ball rolls. The World Game goes on”) adds cohesion. Coy sprinkles in some onomatopoeia (whackk, whummpp), making the play-by-play narration a blast to read aloud. Quang’s vibrant cartoony illustrations, made with pencil and Photoshop, deftly depict players in motion, bounding across a stadium field in Uruguay or a seaside beach in Nigeria, as they defend, intercept, sidestep, and score. Sometimes swirling colors appear, conveying the kinetic movement of the competitors and the ball. The informative back matter includes a brief history of soccer, a list of its various names (with a pronunciation guide), and an explanation of time zones along with a very helpful map. -BRIAN E. WILSON
KIRKUS Reviews
Children playing soccer everywhere from Mombasa to Shenzhen to Chicago suggest just how universal the game has become.
Choosing 12 locales that lead into an appended discussion of time zones worldwide, Coy and Quang capture roughly simultaneous moments of exciting game action. So, even as at 8:23 a.m., Chicago goalkeeper Gloria sends a kick to the left, at 8:27 a.m. on a beach in Mexico, Pablo flicks the ball to his twin sister, Sofia. At 5:33 p.m., Malik in Dubai artfully intercepts a pass, and at 1:41 p.m. Demba in Dakar launches a mighty shot on goal. Compressed sequential views of a slick bit of spinning footwork by Mariana in Campo Grande, Brazil (at 9:47 a.m.) highlight the illustrator’s depictions of young players, often in multiracial, multicultural squads, hustling exuberantly in settings ranging from big stadium pitches to streets, playgrounds, and sandy beaches. “The earth spins,” intones the refrain of the free verse narrative. “The ball rolls. The World Game goes on.” The author closes with a capsule history of the sport and a chart of what it’s called in 11 tongues and scripts.
Just the ticket to catch young fans’ interest in the beautiful game.
School Library Journal
Representing a wide range of ethnicities and genders, the sport’s worldwide popularity and its ability to connect players across cultures is on full display. Bright, cheery illustrations created with pencil and Photoshop maintain a consistent tone throughout, keeping the focus on movement and play. Informational notes at the end provide helpful context on the history of soccer, its many names, and an introduction to time zones. Ardent soccer fans will appreciate this celebration of the world’s most popular game.
Booklist
Upper-elementary readers who are fans of the sport or curious about geography will find this title engaging. A visually dynamic exploration of soccer’s global reach, blending artistic innovation with informative content, best appreciated for its inventive design and educational back matter.