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Goodnight Football (Sport Illustrated Kids)

by Michael Dahl & Christina Forshay, illustrator

Picture Window Books                 8/01//2014

an imprint of Capstone Young Readers & Capstone Books

978-1-62370-106-2

Age 4 to 7   32 pages

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“From the opening kickoff to the final whistle, Goodnight Football brings the excitement of a football game to the youngest fan. Rhyming text and vibrant illustrations capture the love of the game through a child’s eyes and celebrates the combination of football, friendship, and family.”

 Opening

“It’s the end of the week,

it’s the best of all sights—

beneath the night sky

lies a field of bright lights!”

The Story Game

Tonight the home team Grizzlies are playing the Thunderbirds. The crowd bundles up to stay warm as they cheer on their team. It’s the first down of the game and Grizzlies quarterback, number 10, takes the snap, then takes a seat. He’s sacked! In the huddle, what will the Grizzlies do next? Number 10 throws the football long. A Grizzly player zips ahead of a thunderbird, passing by the tackle attempt, reaches up for the ball, and catches it—in the end zone! TOUCHDOWN GRIZZLIES! Through four quarters the teams race up and down the field, play after play, score after score. The final seconds tick off the clock as a Grizzly player dodges the last Thunderbird, running the ball run into the end zone for a touchdown and the game. It’s a Grizzly win for the hometown fans!

Happy Grizzly fans empty out of the field. The family of four walk past the field. The coaches are shaking hands, the players are saying ‘good game’ to their opponents, and the band says goodnight to the cheerleaders. The little boy waves goodnight to number 10, who smiles and waves back. The family heads home, but not before saying goodnight, and there are many goodnights to say. At the concession stand for one last order, the young boy waves goodnight to a new friend. Then it is off to the tour bus for the ride home, but not before waving goodnight to the Grizzly mascot, a giant orange bear! Then it is, “Goodnight goal posts” and “Goodnight moon.” Finally, home, it is past time for bed. The young boy has but two goodnights left. “Goodnight Mom. Goodnight Dad.” Then he drifts off to sleep, snuggling his football, dreaming of the next game, and making the winning touchdown.

Review

Goodnight Football is the second bedtime sports adventure for young children from Sports Illustrated Kids. The first was Goodnight Baseball (review here). With Goodnight Football, the series has become multicultural. The African-American family is young with a small boy and girl. The boy is thrilled to be at the game. He waves to players, and smiles throughout the entire book, until bedtime when the yawns start in. I like that this is not the typical Caucasian family, as seen on the majority of kids’ books. The young boy is the one who says goodnight to everyone and everything. The game has exciting moments, nothing bad to sour the evening game. The home team is once again the winner and they probably will always win.

The cutest spread is the final one, with the young boy tucked into bed, eyes closed, snuggling his football. Having a younger brother who was football crazy at a young age I know the ending is realistic. Girls snuggle teddy bears; boys snuggle footballs and baseball gloves.

The colorful illustrations in Goodnight Football capture the game realistically. One spread in particular is the best. On the right side, the Grizzlies are in a huddle and the illustrator has you on the ground, looking up at the faces in the huddle. What is the play? That huddle is simply a nice image. On the left side, the sacked quarterback gets help rising to his feet. Just as these players do, the quarterback extends one hand to the player helping him up, who grabs the hand with both of his. The realistic image is terrific, but that is not why I love it so much. If you zoom into the middle of the image, right to the locked hands, you will see white hands helping up a black hand. I love the symbolism, which is why it is the best page in the book.

As with Goodnight Baseball, young boys, who will want dad to read the story at bedtime, will love Goodnight Football. The book introduces young kids to the game of football, gets them to notice the world around them, and make new friends. I love these sports books for the youngest boys. They are the ones who usually don’t get to play the game, but now they have something all their own. The story is an easy read, making it possible to read the story every night and not become annoyed with the book. Goodnight Football is a wonderful bedtime story for young boys, but some girls will love this story as well. Goodnight Football makes the perfect gift for young football fans.

GOODNIGHT FOOTBALL. Text copyright © 2014 by Michael Dahl. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Christina Forshay. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Capstone Young Readers, North Mankato, MN.

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Learn more about Goodnight Football HERE.

Pre-Order Goodnight Football at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Capstone Books—your local bookstore.

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Meet the author, Michael Dahl, at his website:   http://www.michaeldahlwrites.com/

Meet the illustrator, Christina Forshay, at her website:    http://www.christinaforshay.com/

Find more books at the Capstone Young Readers website:    http://www.capstoneyoungreaders.com/

SI KIDS is a trademark of Time, Inc.       http://www.sikids.com/

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Also by Michael Dahl & Christina Forshay

Goodnight Baseball (Sports Illustrated Kids)

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Also by Michael Dahl

Book That Ate My Brother

In One Ear, Out the Other

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Also by Christina Forshay

The Really Groovy Story of the Tortoise and the Hare

Moxie