Kickers #4: Game-Day Jitters

Kickers #4: Game-Day Jitters
Author: Rich Wallace
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2012-03-13
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375850953

Filled with on-the-field soccer scenes, black-and-white artwork, and sports statistics throughout, this short novel—ideal for newly independent readers, athletes, and all sports fans—follows nine-year-old Ben and his fourth-grade team, the Bobcats, as they race to the Kickers League playoffs. Ben knows he's one of the team's strongest players, but he's been struggling with the jitters. He's just freezing up on the field. Can he pull through for his teammates now that they really need him?

Kickers #1: The Ball Hogs

Kickers #1: The Ball Hogs
Author: Rich Wallace
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2011-05-10
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375850929

Introducing a soccer series for new readers Kickers #1 Nine-year-old Ben is brand-new to soccer, but he's a good athlete and knows he'll do well on the Bobcats, his team in the local Kickers soccer league. If he can only work around his obnoxious teammate Mark, the ball hog, Ben is sure he'll score his first goal. But Coach Patty, and Ben's own teammates, show him a little something about teamwork. And suddenly it dawns on him: he's a ball hog, too. Can he change his ways before the Bobcats lose their shot at the Kickers play-offs? Award-winning sports novelist Rich Wallace introduces the Kickers soccer series, filled with lively black-and-white art and fast-paced, on-the-field action.

Game-Day Jitters

Game-Day Jitters
Author: Rich Wallace
Publisher: Random House LLC
Total Pages: 115
Release: 2011-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375857575

With help from his older brother Larry, nine-year-old Ben learns to cope with his nervousness about the Kickers League playoffs. Includes "Ben's Top Ten Tips for Soccer Players."

Kickers #2: Fake Out

Kickers #2: Fake Out
Author: Rich Wallace
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2011-05-10
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375850937

Introducing a soccer series for new readers Kickers #2 The Kickers soccer league is heating up, and Ben's team, the Bobcats, has two losses, one win, and one tie. Ben knows he can pull his team out of its slump and right into the league play-offs with his new move: the fake-out. He practices the tricky footwork every chance he gets. But every time he tries it on the field, he flubs up, loses the ball, and hurts his team. Meanwhile, everyone else is faking him out. Is Ben out of his league? In his Kickers series, award-winning author Rich Wallace offers action-filled novels about the Bobcats, a fourth-grade coed soccer team, and their bid for the league play-offs.

Kickers #3: Benched

Kickers #3: Benched
Author: Rich Wallace
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2011-10-11
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375850945

KICKERS: a young middle grade soccer series Book 3 It’s a race to the Kickers soccer league play-offs. Nine-year-old Ben is pretty sure that if the Bobcats win two of their last three games, they’ll earn a tournament spot. But in their game against the Tigers, the Bobcats are a mess on the field—they’re not passing well at all—and Ben decides to take control. Someone has to win this thing, and his teammates just aren’t measuring up. Then the whistle blasts, the red card waves, and Ben is out—benched for dangerous moves. Not only that, he’s barred from the next game, too—a key bout against the Rabbits. How can he possibly help his team to the play-offs from the sidelines? The Kickers series, from award-winning sports novelist Rich Wallace, features nonstop soccer action, black-and-white art, and league statistics and soccer tips throughout. Also available: KICKERS #1: THE BALL HOGS KICKERS #2: FAKE OUT KICKERS #4: GAME-DAY JITTERS

Benched

Benched
Author: Rich Wallace
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2010
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375857567

Nine-year-old Ben learns some lessons in self-control and sportsmanship when his behavior on the soccer field gets him sent to the bench.

Fake Out

Fake Out
Author: Rich Wallace
Publisher: Random House LLC
Total Pages: 121
Release: 2010
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375857559

Nine-year-old Ben and other members of the Bobcats co-ed soccer team improve their skills and begin to win, especially after Ben learns the importance of concentration from his older brother and finally masters the "fake out."

Shots on Goal

Shots on Goal
Author: Rich Wallace
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2010-06-02
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0307477789

It's soccer season, and sophomore Bones Austin and his team are struggling to make it to the district play-offs--against all odds. To make matters worse, Bones has a crush on the girlfriend of his best friend, Joey. Bones and Joey are forced to learn a little something about teamwork, even when hard times seem to be tearing them apart. Rich Wallace returns to Sturbridge, Pennsylvania, in his stunning follow-up to Wreslting Strubirdge, in Knopf Paperback for the first time.

The Ball Hogs

The Ball Hogs
Author: Rich Wallace
Publisher: Random House LLC
Total Pages: 119
Release: 2010
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375857540

Nine-year-old Ben, a natural athlete and member of the Bobcats co-ed soccer team, wants to overcome his inexperience and prove himself on the field, but his obnoxious teammate, Mark, keeps hogging the ball.

Wrestling Sturbridge

Wrestling Sturbridge
Author: Rich Wallace
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2008-12-24
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0307561283

Welcome to Sturbridge, Pennsylvania, a small, dead-end town with nothing to do and no way out. At least that's how Ben, a high school senior and the second-best 135-pound wrestler in school, sees it. But Ben's fed up with being stuck on the bench, watching as his friend Al, the state champion, gets all the glory. If Ben doesn't get his life in gear, he could end up like his father and the other men in Sturbridge--working on the line in the cinder block factory. Spurred on partly by a wise, intense young woman, and partly by a strength found deep within himself, Ben looks for a way out--his whole life depends on it. In the words of Newbery medalist Jerry Spinelli, "Wrestling Sturbridge isn't just an outstanding first novel; it's an outstanding novel, period."