Dream on

Dream On

by Bali Rai

While Baljit shovels chips in his dad's chippy, he dreams of football stardom. Then the chance of a life-time comes along - a trial for the Premier League. But Baljit is sure his parents will disapprove and so the lies begin. Will Baljit's parents cost him his dream - or will his own lies trip him up?

A dyslexia-friendly book that also appeals to reluctant readers.

Genres: Sports

82 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Bali Rai was born in 1971 and grew up in Leicester. As a child, Bali wanted to be a footballer or to write stories. Always an avid reader, he hails Sue Townsend, Douglas Adams and Robert Swindells as his writing heroes. Bali grew up reading Dr Seuss and Meg and Mog and his first book purchase was The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. He realised he wasn't good enough to play for Liverpool F.C. and after gaining a politics degree in London he returned to his home city and combined a variety of jobs in pubs and clubs with completing his first novel. Bali set about writing a story he had been thinking about for many years. He wanted to write accessible material for children of all ages and backgrounds and realising there were no British Asian authors writing for children, he saw a gap. Bali hopes his novels capture the unique ethnic mix of the UK, of which he is proud to be a part.

Bali writes stories inspired by his working class Punjabi/Sikh background, but his aim was always that his writing should be enjoyed by readers everywhere, irrespective of class or culture. His has the ability to tackle the harsh realities of growing up in the UK and blend this with humour and often a overriding optimism. Bali visits schools and libraries in every major UK city, averaging 70 school and library events a year.

His first book, (un)arranged marriage, created a huge amount of interest and won many awards, including the Angus Book Award and the Leicester Book of the Year. It was also shortlisted for the prestigious Branford Boase first novel award. Rani and Sukh and The Whisper were both shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize.

All of Bali’s teen titles have been short-listed for awards across the UK, including twice making the Booktrust Teenage Prize shortlist. His third novel Rani and Sukh has represented the UK at the International IBBY awards and this title has its own Facebook tribute group set up by fans. Bali’s first three novels appear in The Ultimate Teenage Book Guide. Bali also writes shorter novels for Barrington Stoke, his first book, Dream On, was selected for the Booktrust’s inaugural Booked Up list. He also writes the hugely popular Soccer Squad series for younger readers.

Reviews

[16alhayekm637 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book because it was adventure/comedy.it was talking about moe ,he’s trying to get to a football team but he faces a lot of problems.however at the end he managed to play for a football team. I recommend this book to years 6-9 because it’s fun

[Kirsikka71 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Family and football, mixing these too seems to give Baljit some anxiety. His father wants him to become a doctor or a lawyer or at least to help out in their restaurant instead of kicking a ball. So when Baljit gets the opportunity to try out for junior league he has to come up with a plan.

[Runa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't bad. That's all i can say. I didn't enjoy this book at all, and only read it for school. 2.5 is probably my rating.

[Koushik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple story of how a Sikh boy's football dream plays out

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book, it very inspiring to any teenagers interested in sport, it is a book that proves anybody can do what they want, if they just try.