Families who loved Kick It! by Matt Christopher 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 is facing a crisis of confidence in their extracurricular activities or feeling like a peer is rooting for them to fail. While centered on soccer, the heart of the story is about the internal work required to ignore a critic and focus on the mechanics of improvement. It provides a helpful roadmap for children who are sensitive to the comments of others. Fullback Alan Minter is struggling with his kicking accuracy, a frustration compounded by a teammate who seems to be targeting his mistakes. With the support of a loyal friend, Alan learns to channel his energy into practice and technical mastery rather than social anxiety. It is an ideal bridge for early readers, offering a realistic look at sportsmanship and the grit needed to overcome a performance slump.