I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A cute beginning chapter book for sports fans. Great for girls who love soccer (and boys too). Not too long and a great main character.

A good read for younger readers, my daughter was in love with this book and giggled often outloud! With her being a soccer lover and player it was an easy read for her!

This is a cute early chapter book with a lot going for it. It has a racially diverse cast of characters, a supportive family, girls playing sports and a lesson in accepting our skills for what they are and playing to our strengths. When Keisha attends an activities fair she doesn't know what she wants to do until she sees a boy with a soccer ball. Her grandfather was a striker, so she joins the team hoping that she will be a striker as well. Keisha is able to score goals, but she is slower than the other players and she keeps catching the ball with her hands. When she doesn't make striker, she is upset, but her coach has another idea. Her coach and teammates are all very supportive of Keisha and help her accept her role on the team. The illustrations are colorful and appealing and support the story well. This book would be a good choice for primary readers and with the subject being soccer will appeal to many. I recommend this book to schools, classrooms, and family libraries.

My daughter is a young reader, and she is recently making the jump from picture books to easy chapter books. Watching this shift in her reading has been exhilarating. I love watching her excitement as she reads "grown-up" books and falls in love with her newfound journey into all things chapter books.

This shift in my daughter’s reading has me on high-alert for great early chapter books. I want to find stories for readers, like my daughter, who are making the shift into chapter books. Of course, there will always be those classics like Junie B. Jones and Flat Stanley. But young readers need new characters to love, and I am on a mission to find them!

The challenge with early chapter books is they need to be engaging yet easily decodable. Readers who are new into reading chapter books still need to have access to their text decoding as they face new and more difficult words.

Simple plotlines that hold kids' attention are also imperative for new chapter book readers. Also, when I look for beginning chapter books, I still look for ones that have interesting illustrations spread out in the text to help these young readers comprehend as they are reading.

Through my journey, I have had to opportunity to come across Soccer Dreams by Shawn Pryor. Soccer Dreams is an example of an early chapter book that absolutely fits the qualities I am looking for when I place accessible chapter books in the hands of young readers like my daughter.

In the text, Soccer Dreams, you meet a young girl. Her name is Keisha. Keisha dreams of becoming a big soccer star. To her, the ultimate accomplishment would be if she becomes a top soccer striker, just like her grandfather used to be.

But Keisha has a huge problem! She can’t seem to not use her hands during soccer.

Keisha is panicked that her bad habit of using her hands during soccer is going to ruin any chance she had to become the soccer star that she has always dreamed about becoming.

Thankfully, her coach comes up with a brilliant plan for Keisha. Maybe instead of being a striker, Keisha may be a better fit to be a goalie?

Soccer Dreams is an early chapter book that boys and girls alike will enjoy. The utilization of soccer is a huge win for any sport-loving reader. Soccer Dreams is engaging, and it is a great text for those that are just transitioning into the wonderful world of chapter books!

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Keisha attends an activities fair and isn't quite sure what she wants to do until she sees a boy with a soccer ball. Her grandfather was a striker, so she joins the team hoping that she can get this position. Keisha doesn't have any trouble with running, but she keeps grabbing the ball, which is not allowed. Eventually, her coach (who wears an athletic hijab) asks her to try out as a goalie, and this is where Keisha finds her true talent.
Strengths: The reading level of this falls between I Can Read Books and the Jake Maddox sports titles, so would be good for first through third grade. The illustrations are colorful and appealing. Keisha has a supportive family, and she gets along well on her team. I'm glad to see more sports books being written for younger children, and soccer is definitely a good choice for many elementary school students.
Weaknesses: Too young for my students.
What I Really Think: I would definitely look into this Kids' Sports Stories series for an elementary library.

We never have enough early chapter books! This one includes so many great things: non-white characters (woohoo!), learning new things about yourself, and, of course, soccer. A great many kids will benefit from having it on their bookshelves!