The Wiggly Worms are playing the Rotten Rats but can they finally win a game? Or will they spend most of their on-pitch time playing with their mascot dog 'Floppy'.
And what of the half-time orange skins scattered across the grounds? Well, someone has to pick them up.
And what of the mum yelling 'Kick it, David, kick it'. Well, of course, David kicks it - to his mum.
A carousingly kid-like and warmly hilarious story - Losers? is a beautifully-written tale kids will adore. The scene describing an accidental Worms goal, the shirt-over-the-head-running and subsequent slamming into a tree is priceless, and my son laughed his head off throughout the entire book.
Deeves is undeniably a writer with great comic wit - her storyline underpins a junior soccer game to perfection, and both kids and adults will totally relate to the chaos - and to the underlying concept that FUN should come before winning.
Gorgeous comical pics by Adam Carruthers make this book one of my favourite junior reads in a very long time. More please, Mrs Deeves!
Title: Losers?
Author: Pauline Deeves
Illustrator: Adam Carruthers
Publisher: Scholastic, A$11.99 RRP
Publication Date: July 2011
ISBN: 9781862918511
Format: Softcover
For ages: 6 - 10
Type: Young Junior Fiction
Teachers' Notes
