Lydia Williams (text) and Lucinda Gifford (illustrator), Goal!!!, Allen & Unwin, June 2021, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760526146
I was delighted to see that the author of Goal!!! was in fact an Australian and internationally known goalkeeper, Lydia Williams. Williams tells the tale of a young budding goalkeeper who has just moved to the big city. All she has ever known is replaced, including the bush animals to zoo animals. She can’t possibly play soccer with these creatures. Tiger is too loud, gibbon too silly.
This is a story about friendship, and you can imagine each of these zoo animals being someone in the schoolyard. We all know a gibbon who always runs off with the ball! But what if gibbon is really teaching us how to be fast and agile? And always have a laugh?
Goal!!! reminds us to see the learning which is hidden in every situation. What can seem like a bad situation, is a chance to see a solution. When you think someone is too quiet, maybe they’re just good at observing.
Being a ‘good sport’ is a lesson we all have to learn. This book does that in a fun way, and when the advice comes from a professional soccer player, who wouldn’t listen?
A great book about sportsmanship which can crossover into friendship, Goal!!! by Lydia Williams is a surprise and delight. A great tie-in leading up to the Tokyo Olympics.
Reviewed by Belinda Raposo
