Soccer Scoop: Who's Making a Fool of MAC?

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5AWhen a cartoon appears in the school newspaper making fun of Mac's "motor mouth," the boy tries to find out who is responsible. This is one of Christopher's typical play-by-play sports stories with an upbeat ending and simple vocabulary and sentence structure. However, the plot is not particularly memorable. Mac has the bravado and confident personality often necessary for a successful goalie, but with all of his bragging, readers will wonder how he has any friends. Conversation between characters doesn't ring true and slang such as "You look spiffy" or the reference to a girl getting all "dolled up" for a dance sounds like phrases from the '40s or '50s rather than the '90s. Consider this for purchase only if more sports stories by Christopher are needed.ABlair Christolon, Prince William Library, Manassas, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Gr. 3^-6. Christopher scores again with this exciting sports story that is also a pretty good whodunit. Mac Williams, star goalie for the Cougars, is suddenly the target of a series of unflattering cartoons that mysteriously begin appearing in the school newspaper. His efforts to discover the identity of the cartoonist are the basis of the plot, and readers will have fun trying to figure it out right along with Mac. Although Christopher does a good job of dispensing clues without being too obvious, some older readers may not be challenged enough by the mystery element. Other themes, such as loyalty, trust, and a budding romance with the younger sister of a primary suspect, will hold their interest more, along with the dynamic soccer play-by-play. A great choice for engaging reluctant readers. Lauren Peterson


From Kirkus Reviews
Christopher (see review, above) was treading water with this routine sports-story- cum-mystery. Someone is sending snide cartoons to the school newspaper featuring a motor-mouthed soccer goalie. Soccer goalie Mac Williams is determined to find out who is behind them. He complains to the principal, who shrugs it off as a First Amendment issue; Mac gathers circumstantial evidence, then falsely accuses a) Dougie, his best friend, b) Jimmy, the paper's sports reporter, and c) Billy, a teammate. The culprit is Billy's girlfriend, who, offended by Mac's remarks about her fellow's play, hoped to teach Mac a lesson. By the next page, everyone laughs it off. This is a decidedly minor effort: Even the sports action is vague and remote when it's not at Mac's end of the field. Readers may have trouble keeping the cast of similar-sounding characters straight, and the mystery is solved only after some heavily contrived stratagems. (Fiction. 10-12) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Card catalog description
When a cartoon appears in the school newspaper making fun of his tendancy to talk a lot, Mac, the goalie for the Cougars soccer team, is determined to find out who is responsible.


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Gr 3-5When a cartoon appears in the school newspaper making fun of Mac's "motor mouth," the boy tries to find out who is responsible. This is one of Christopher's typical play-by-play sports stories with an upbeat ending and simple vocabulary and sentence structure. However, the plot is not particularly memorable. Mac has the bravado and confident personality often necessary for a successful goalie, but with all of his bragging, readers will wonder how he has any friends. Conversation between characters doesn't ring true and slang such as "You look spiffy" or the reference to a girl getting all "dolled up" for a dance sounds like phrases from the `40s or `50s rather than the `90s. Consider this for purchase only if more sports stories by Christopher are needed.Blair Christolon, Prince William Library, Manassas, VA


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