Families who loved Soccer Mania by Jane O'Connor often look for books with a similar feel. These 20 recommendations were selected for their similarity in style, theme, and reading level.
Reach for this book when your child feels discouraged by their own lack of athletic prowess or is struggling to maintain their confidence while being a beginner at a new sport. In this installment of the Nancy Clancy chapter book series, the ever-glamorous Nancy joins a soccer team and quickly realizes she is not the star athlete she hoped to be. Rather than a story about winning the big game, this is a refreshing look at finding joy in participation and aiming for improvement rather than perfection. Parents will appreciate how the story balances Nancy's signature love for big vocabulary (her class is building a Graveyard of Boring Words) with the very real emotional hurdle of being the slowest person on the field. It is a perfect choice for elementary schoolers who need to see that it is okay to be mediocre as long as you are having fun and being a good teammate. The book provides a wonderful model for reframing success through a growth mindset.