Everyone’s got football fever!
Gala Day is the fourth book in an action-packed junior fiction series in partnership with Football Australia, featuring Commbank Matildas and Subway Socceroos stars Kyah Simon, Craig Goodwin, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Garang Kuol – and more!
Following their success at the High Potential Pathway Program for Australia’s future football stars, the Under 11s Merridale Fever are set to finish their season on a high – if they can win their last game against rivals Newhurst FC, the one team they have never beaten. But before this can happen, a huge storm damages the Merridale clubhouse and fields and threatens to cancel their end-of-season Gala Day. Can help from some football greats be the motivation the team needs to be their best both on and off the pitch?
Kristin Darell has been a passionate storyteller since she was a child. Now, as an author, she has contributed to children’s writing anthologies and published her debut junior fiction series, Football Fever, in 2022.
Gala Day is book #4 in this fantastic series, which is part of an expansive publishing program in the lead-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Admittedly, my experience and encounters with football are limited – very limited – so I read this book with fresh eyes and a fresh perspective… and I loved it! Whether you’re a football novice or superstar, there’s so much to take away from this series.
Yes, there is specific mention of football and its team dynamics. But overall, the Football Fever series is first and foremost centred around the universal lessons that sports teach us. Gala Day is no different.
In this fourth book, the Under 11s Merridale Fever have been on a successful path, and this next win means more to them than ever. But Mother Nature has other things in store… And so ensues an action-filled story about teamwork, friendship, determination and being the best you can be personally and professionally. Harper and Ava were standout characters for me, along with some football greats that even I, a football novice, recognised.
Perfectly timed in the lead-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, sporty kids will adore the play-by-play descriptions of fancy footwork on the field, while those less football-inclined will be drawn in by the characters and broader messages that span the series. I recommend it for children aged 9+.
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