Kickoff! (Barber Game Time)

Persistence, patience and teamwork are the themes of this novel based on the boyhoods of the Barber twins ("Teammates"). The future NFL stars begin middle school with considerable trepidation: for the first time, they will be in separate classes, and they are among the scrawniest students trying out for the football team. (On the first day of practice, in one of the narratives occasional clichéd exchanges, a tough-talking older player taunts them, You're dead meat, Wimpy.... We eat seventh graders for lunch.) The twins are devastated to learn that theyve only made third string (They were sick to their stomachs, and had a bitter taste in their mouths — a taste even Moms chicken soup couldn't cure). But unsurprisingly, Tiki and Ronde get field time during a game against their toughest rivals. Even as the game races to an expected outcome, the swift action delivers genuine tension. Lending noble, if sometimes stiffly delivered, moral dimensions to the story are the twins mother, who spearheads a campaign to keep a factory out of their neighborhood; an older player; teachers; and the coach. All drive home variations on the message, You'll both get stronger if you work as a team.... In class, and in football, too. Ages 8-12. (Oct.)

Copyright 2007 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

Gr 4-6 Readers who couldn't get enough of the Barber brothers in their picture books By My Brother's Side (2004) and Game Day (2005, both S & S) will appreciate this more in-depth look at the twins' lives. "Kickoff!" chronicles their first days of junior high and the beginning of football season as they tried to make their way as individuals and as teammates. There were tense moments in the hallways, locker room, and classroom as the boys were forced to expand their small circle of friends in a new, bigger school. Mom was there to make sure homework came first. Football enthusiasts will be able to visualize the plays and recognize how the value of team sports is portrayed throughout the book. The mention of Joe Theismann as a favorite Redskins quarterback and the reference to Tiki Barber running through the school hallway with his book bag tucked under his arm, pretending to be the great Walter Payton, place readers in the correct time frame. Though catalogued as biography, these books are filled with dialogue and read like fiction. There is no bibliography. - Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.