I love footy! by Matt Zurbo

Windy Hollow, 2013. ISBN 9781922081179.
(Age: 4+) Picture book, Football, Involvement. An affectionate look at the game played by thousands of kids throughout Australia in their backyards and local parks, ovals and sports grounds, Matt Zurbo gives us a peek inside their fears, needs, wants and desires, as the boy in the book shows us what he can do. From playing football where he feels like a giant, confident, able to leap tall fences, charge through the opposition, play with his friends on his team, each positive side of being in a team is given. After that the negatives are give, playing in the cold and wet, the mud and slush, being yelled at by the coach, having a larger opposition, or being left out of the team. Each of the observations is accompanied by hilarious, bright illustrations, which will delight the younger readers, as they peruse the array of children presented, and the antics they portray.
Promoting team values, the book presents an array of positives which come from joining a team: friendship, learning to get along, overcoming hardships together, revelling in the highs and adjusting to the lows of being in a sports team, taking the good with the bad, and learning to predict what may happen so that eventualities might be covered. All of this in one small picture book, which could be well used by classes, looking at the reasons people play sport and why the class should get involved.
Fran Knight