Madani's Best Game

by Fran Pintadera, Raquel Catalina (Illustrator), Lawrence Schimel (Translator)

Overview

A heartfelt book featuring a neighborhood soccer team and its determined young star, who has a secret plan even more impressive than his bicycle kicks.

No one plays soccer like Madani. When the ball lands on his bare feet, the whole town stops to watch. Even Madani’s mother—still sewing the day’s work at home—can hear the crowds cheer when he scores. His teammates wonder what their best player could do, if he only had a proper pair of cleats. As Madani saves up money, bit by bit, his team’s rivalry match approaches. Maybe he’ll have new cleats in time for the big day! Or maybe Madani has a different goal in mind…

Told with gentle humor and lively illustrations, Madani’s Best Game is a refreshing story about the joys of sports, teamwork, and family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802855978
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	681,144
Product dimensions:	7.45(w) x 10.40(h) x (d)
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Fran Pintadera is a storyteller, theater director, and the author of over a dozen children's books. Why Do We Cry? (Kids Can) received a Parents' Choice Gold Award and was selected as a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year. Madani's Best Game is based on Fran's time as a social educator in new immigrant housing, where he often played pick-up soccer with a boy named Madani and his friends. Fran lives in Spain. Follow him on Instagram @franpintadera.



Raquel Catalina is a Spanish artist and illustrator whose books include Benji's Blanket (Green Bean). She studied fine arts in Madrid, then earned a postgraduate degree in illustration in Valencia. In 2021, the original version of Madani's Best Game was selected as a NYPL Best Spanish-Language Book for Kids. Follow Raquel on Instagram at @raquelcatalinaillustration.


Lawrence Schimel has written or translated over 200 books, including Niños, Different, and 9 Kilometers (all Eerdmans). His works have received many awards, including a PEN Translates Award and the GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Honor. Lawrence lives in Madrid, Spain. Follow him on Twitter @lawrenceschimel.

Editorial Reviews

12/01/2022

Gr 2–4—This picture book tells the story of Madani, the best soccer player in the neighborhood. He plays with bare feet, scoring goal after goal. His mother, working as a seamstress, hears the distant cheers, but is unable to attend the game due to the amount of work she has. Madani has been saving up all his money, and the children assume it is to buy cleats. However, when Madani returns from his day at the store, he is still barefoot. What he spends his money on leads to his best game ever. The text is told from the children's point of view and is poetic and simple. The soft palette is created with pencil, gouache, and colored pencils. Engaging illustrations are filled with a lot of action and characters for readers to explore. Most of the characters appear white, with a few characters of color in the background. An author's note explains that the story was inspired by Pintadera's experiences with the children in immigrant housing while he was a social worker. VERDICT A good purchase to add to sports collections, books on family, or those on sportsmanship.—V. Lynn Christiansen

School Library Journal

2022-07-13
A celebration of a neighborhood soccer team’s star player.

“Our whole neighborhood knows it: No one plays soccer like Madani does.” Though he may not be the tallest or the fastest, he definitely stands out—because he doesn’t wear any shoes when he plays and because there’s nothing he can’t do with the ball. “Madani makes the ball twirl and passes it from one side to the other. He hides it between his legs, shrugs it over his shoulders, catches it on his head….” Madani’s mother is unable to come watch the games because she is a seamstress and must finish her work. But as she sews, she hears the game’s cheers. Madani’s teammates imagine how much better Madani could play with a pair of cleats. When he hints that he is saving money for something that will improve his game, they hope his cleats come in time before their match against a rival team. But instead, he buys something else—something that allows his mother to hear the cheers firsthand and joyfully join in. Pintadera’s author’s note mentions that working with immigrant families—including a boy named Madani—inspired this story. Madani has dark hair and light skin; most characters are light-skinned. Smudgy, sepia-tinged tones warm the palette of this already heartwarming story. Translated from Spanish, the lyrical text is by turns poignant and triumphant. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An unselfish gift given from the biggest heart. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews