Hat Trick (Soccer Cats Series #4)

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-This well-written series successfully combines soccer action with good sportsmanship and family values. The characters seem like real people with flaws and problems. Hat Trick focuses on Stookie Norris, who desperately tries to score three goals in every game after his older brother is featured in the local paper for doing just that-scoring a hat trick. Only his shots matter to him because the more he takes, the more likely he is to achieve his goal. It takes a wise coach and a good friend to make Stookie into a team player. In Secret Weapon, Lisa is self-conscious because she is short, which makes it difficult for her to make a throw-in. When her coach discovers that she has gymnastic ability, he encourages her to work on a secret-weapon flip throw that helps her team gain points. One black-and-white ink illustration appears in each chapter. Facial expressions convey the characters' emotions and pictures of the field action capture the excitement of the games.Barb Lawler, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
Two new books paperback editions of the exciting Matt Christopher Soccer 'Cats series. When Stookie Norris's older brother Greg gets his picture in the paper for scoring three goals in one game, Stookie is dazzled. Greg insists strikers should try to score a hat trick every game, though Stookie's coach has never told him that. Still, when the Soccer 'Cats have their next game, Stookie does his best to score three goals-even though it means running wild all over the field chasing the ball. But is that really the best way for him to play his position?


Card catalog description
When his older brother gets his picture in the paper for scoring three goals in a soccer game, Stookie tries to emulate his feat.


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Stookie Norris wants to be like his older brother, Greg. A striker for the Blue Waves soccer team. Greg's picture is in the sports column of the local newspaper because "he scored the league's first and only hat trick..." Although Stookie is a striker for his own team, the Soccer Cats, he's never heard of a hat trick. Greg explains it's "when one player scores three goals in one game," and adds, "It's very hard to do." According to Greg, it's what all coaches want. Every striker should strive for a hat trick. And that's what Stookie tries to do. But does his team really need a hotshot? With a little help from his best friend, Lou, Stookie learns what being a member of a team is all about. Important messages are camouflaged in this enjoyable read. It's a "first chapter book" that just might entice reluctant readers to join the Matt Christopher Fan Club. Book #4 in the "Soccer Cats" series. 2000, Little Brown and Company, Ages 7 to 9, $13.95. Reviewer: Ellen R. Braaf—Children's Literature


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