Amanda Caler thought getting a nosebleed during a game was bad, but now things have gone from bad to worse--she finds she's afraid of the ball now! And if that's not bad enough, it looks like someone is trying to steal her spot at halfback. Could one of her teammates be capable of such a thing? Illustrations.
Small for her age, Lisa Gaddy, the soccer team fullback, has trouble with her throw-ins from the sidelines until the coach devises a plan to turn her into a team asset.
Lisa Gaddy is a starting fullback for the 'Cats and she plays her position well -- except for one thing. She's small for her age, so her throw-ins from the sidelines don't go very far. Sometimes the ball winds up landing in front of an opponent instead of a teammate. She can't stop taking throw-ins (though one of her teammates thinks she should), but unless she grows three inches before the season ends, there doesn't seem to be any way she can improve. Or is there? The coach has an idea to turn Lisa's throw-ins into the 'Cats' secret weapon....
Women's soccer has never been more popular. At the top of the sport's list of star players is Mia Hamm. Her speed, aggressive play, and ability to "read the field" have sparked every team she's ever played on. At the University of North Carolina, she helped the Tar Heels capture four NCAA championships. Her continually stellar performances with the United States national team led them to win two out of three Women's World Cups, first in 1991 and again in 1999. And as a member of the 1996 gold medal-winning Olympic team, she played an outstanding final game on a sprained ankle. The holder of the world record for most goals scored in a career, she is the hero of thousands of soccer fans worldwide. Readers will devour every detail of this insightful biography of the best women's soccer player in the world. Get an up-close look at this superstar athlete with Matt Christopher, the number one sports series for kids. For more information on the Matt Christopher Sports Bio Bookshelf, please turn to the last pages of this book.
From Michael Ondaatje: an electrifying novel, by turns thrilling and deeply moving—one of his most vividly rendered and compelling works of fiction to date. In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy boards a huge liner bound for England. At mealtimes, he is placed at the lowly "Cat's Table" with an eccentric and unforgettable group of grownups and two other boys. As the ship makes its way across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal, into the Mediterranean, the boys find themselves immersed in the worlds and stories of the adults around them. At night they spy on a shackled prisoner—his crime and fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever. Looking back from deep within adulthood, and gradually moving back and forth from the decks and holds of the ship to the years that follow the narrator unfolds a spellbinding and layered tale about the magical, often forbidden discoveries of childhood and the burdens of earned understanding, about a life-long journey that began unexpectedly with a sea voyage.
The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.