Kid Coach

Written and illustrated by Rob Justus

Page Street Kids

978-1-62414-886-6

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

February 2020

For children who feel that their parents and teachers and other adults are always dragging them to do things they'd rather not, Kid Coach will offer them a funny flip-flop of circumstances and some valuable lessons on sportsmanship and competition.

From Kid Coach by Rob Justus

Dad who is a "couch potato extraordinaire" loves his wrestling, watching it on all his devices. But his son is determined to make him into a champion. Through small challenges in lifting weights and eating healthily, Kid Coach gets his dad to the Wrestle-Rumble Mania Kingdom Tournament of Champions to take on an assortment of colourful wrestlers like the Flamingo and the Cheetah, using his signature move, the Tater Tangler.

From Kid Coach by Rob Justus

But as Dad piles up win after win, his ego gets the better of him and his over-the-top celebrations show his lack of good sportsmanship. Kid Coach knows that "A true champion is about more than just being number one."

From Kid Coach by Rob Justus

When Dad realizes how alone he is, Kid Coach teaches him another lesson, one about sincere apologies for bad behaviour and sharing some potato treats with his competitors.

From couch potato to true champion, Dad's finally earned these friend chips.

From Kid Coach by Rob Justus

This may be Ottawa author-illustrator Rob Justus's debut book, but I suspect we'll be seeing more of his work soon enough. (He has a 2021 graphic novel coming out called Death & Sparkles that is described as a cross between "Adventure Time" and "The Good Place.") The cartooning is dauntless in its bold colours that often spotlight pink, purple and yellow and in the weird and wacky shapes of the wrestlers in costume and in action.  Dad, with his long and chiselled face and front-curl pompadour, wearing a red wrestling singlet and head- and wrist-bands, cuts an interesting figure, even more so when covered up in his lime green-printed robe with yellow faux fur trim. Between his off-the-wall wrestling characters, the role reversal of father and son, and text peppered with clever spud puns, Rob Justus will make children laugh and learn about healthy living and sportsmanship.

Even if this Kid Coach had never spurred his couch-potato dad into wrestling greatness, he would still be a winner in our books for his attitude and determination. Without a doubt, he is the greatest Kid Coach around. Get this kid a trophy of his own!🏆

The New Football Coach

Written by Dominique Demers

Illustrated by Tony Ross

Translated by Sander Berg

Alma Junior (Alma Books)

978-1-84688-435-1

96 pp.

Ages 6-9

May 2019

Miss Charlotte is back! The astounding woman who touched young lives with her unorthodox ways in The New Teacher (2016) and The Mysterious Librarian (2017) has returned and this time she has been recruited to coach the Black Duck Brook Football Club whose headmistress Paulette Pesky in in competition with her twin Yvette, headmistress at Blueberry Bay. In a turn of events, always the norm with Miss Charlotte, the question of "Who will win?" becomes "Does it matter as long as we're having fun as a team?"

The narrator of The New Football Coach is Jeremy who is hopeless at football, or soccer for North American fans, but whose father, owner of a Sports Plus store, is determined that his son will play. When Miss Charlotte comes along and begins her lessons with how to lose and talks to her football, whom she calls Anatole, top scorer Fred Ferocio ridicules her approach but, for the first time, Jeremy is enjoying himself. After she invites new team members, including Jeremy's non-athletic friend Billy Bungalow and others whom Fred classifies as rubbish, to join, Miss Charlotte's coaching involves the kids getting to know their own footballs and developing their own strategies as well as offering them a special and delicious drink called smalalamiam. Will it be enough for them to win their match against Blueberry Bay?

Miss Charlotte has the right idea about playing team sports.  She recognizes that

the best team is not the one which scores the most goals. It is the team that has the most passion, the most enthusiasm, the most positive energy. (pg. 51)

Any team could benefit from this wisdom and the Black Duck Football Club does as well. The other team may be all about the drive to win, even deliberately injuring a competitor, but they have nothing on Jeremy's team of have fun pushing forward with song, gymnastics and secret codes.

Dominique Demers's Miss Charlotte books, originally written in French, are filled with silliness and wisdom, lessons and heart. They are ideal for early readers, blending fun storytelling with positive messages. For young children trying to learn right from wrong, Dominique Demers's Miss Charlotte provides the right kind of guidance. It may be somewhat unconventional, not unlike Mary Poppins, but Miss Charlotte demonstrates that doing things differently may actually be better and, with the hype and intensity shown by some players, parents and coaches when it comes to sports, she seems to get it right.

⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽

n.b. For French-language readers, there are several editions of this series available, including one from Québec Amérique with seven volumes.

Team Steve

Written and illustrated by Kelly Collier

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-932-7

40 pp.

Ages 4-8

September 2018

Let's face it: Steve the Horse, introduced in Kelly Collier's A Horse Named Steve (Kids Can Press, 2017), is a bit of a narcissist. It's all about him. In his first book, he wanted to be seen as exceptional among the animals, oblivious to the strengths of others, seeing them as ordinary. Now, in Team Steve, Steve is looking forward to winning yet another race-a-thon, knowing how extraordinary he is as a runner.

From Team Steve by Kelly Collier

But the rules of the race have changed and Steve is put on a relay team with Duck, Turtle and Snail. Steve is perplexed as to how they are to win when "A duck waddles, a turtle walks and a snail ... is a snail!"  Even as each of his teammates suggests that he could coach them, sharing his expertise, he ignores their suggestions until he comes up with the same idea they've been proposing. Problem is that Steve is all about Steve, so his coaching is not about his teammates but about himself. Among his pearls of coaching wisdom, he advises Turtle to lift his hooves (?), Snail to eat three bowls of oats a day and Duck to stretch its neck.

From Team Steve by Kelly Collier

On the day of the race-a-thon, it's Turtle, Snail and Duck who surpass all expectations and pass their race competitors, while it is Steve who loses the race for them. Too busy congratulating himself on coaching his team to a victory, he delays in running his stretch of the race and the other teams tie to win.  Still it's his teammates that help him overcome his embarrassment before Steve is back applauding himself for helping the other teams win.

From Team Steve by Kelly Collier

Oh, Steve. He is such a self-centred horse, always focusing on his own needs and wants and how he is perceived by others. He is totally unconcerned with others except as they relate to him.  Kids will laugh themselves silly at the foolishness of Steve's need for attention and glory knowing that he is the centre of his own distress.  If Team Steve teaches anything it's that teamwork requires cooperation and listening to others, but it's a lesson Steve still needs to learn. Fortunately, Kelly Collier has created some great characters, including Bob the raccoon who organizes the race and the teams, to help Steve see beyond himself. Her characters, so suggestive in their expressions and body language, demonstrate their own frustration with the equine, as well as their curiosity and pleasure. Moreover, Kelly Collier does this with a very limited palette of beiges with black and white.

Steve may not be the most collaborative but his intent, like his emotional support for his teammates, is honest. Perhaps that's why, even when he messes up, like we all do, they forgive him and help him find acceptance of the situation. And with friends to help, everyone, even Steve, is a winner.