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Soccer Scoop
Mac Williams, goalie for the Cougars, is known as much for his upbeat game chatter as for his outstanding saves. But when an anonymous artist starts making fun of him with a weekly cartoon, Mac is anything but upbeat. To make matters worse, he suspects that somebody close to him is the cartoonist. Would one of his friends really betray him-or is there someone else who wants to make him look ridiculous?
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
14 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Matt Christopher
438 books141 followersMatt Christopher is the writer young readers turn to when they're looking for fast-paced, action-packed sports novels. He is the best-selling author of more than one hundred sports books for young readers.
Matt Christopher is America's bestselling sports writer for children, with more than 100 books and sales approaching six million copies. In 1992, Matt Christopher talked about being a children's book author.
"I became interested in writing when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was selling magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and Liberty, and I would read the stories, particularly the adventure and mystery stories, and think how wonderful it would be to be able to write stories and make a living at it. I also read detective, horror, aviation, and sports stories and decided I would try writing them myself.
Determined to sell, I wrote a detective story a week for 40 weeks, finding the time to marry, work, and play baseball and basketball before I sold my first story in 1941, "The Missing Finger Points," for $50 to Detective Story magazine.
After writing and selling children's sports stories to magazines, I decided to write a baseball book for children. I was living in Syracuse, New York at the time, working at General Electric. I spoke about my idea to the branch librarian. She was immediately interested and told me that they needed sports stories badly. So I came up with my first children's book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. I submitted it to Little, Brown, and the book was published in 1954.
I'm sure that playing sandlot baseball and then semiprofessional baseball with a Class C club in the Canadian-American League influenced my writing. I had my own personal experiences, and I saw how other players reacted to plays, to teammates' and fans' remarks and innuendoes, to managers' orders, etc. All these had a great influence on my writing. My love of the game helped a lot, too, of course.
Out of all the books I've written, my favorite is The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. It's a fantasy, but the main character in it could be real. There are a lot of boys who would love to play baseball but, for some reason, cannot. The only difference between a real-life boy and Sylvester Coddmyer III is the appearance of a character named George Baruth, whom only Sylvester can see and who helps Sylvester become a good ballplayer.
I've written many short stories and books for both children and adults, and find that writing for children is really my niche. Being the eldest of nine children (seven boys and two girls), I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.
Sports have made it possible for me to meet many people with all sorts of life stories, on and off the field, and these are grist for this writer's mill. I'm far beyond playing age now, but I manage to go to both kids' and adult games just to keep up with them, and keep them fresh in my mind.Very few things make me happier than receiving fan letters from boys and girls who write that they had never cared for reading until they started to read my books. That is just about the ultimate in writing for children. I would never trade it for another profession."
Matt Christopher died on September 27, 1997. His legacy is now being carried on by his sons, Duane and Dale Christopher.
Matt Christopher is America's bestselling sports writer for children, with more than 100 books and sales approaching six million copies. In 1992, Matt Christopher talked about being a children's book author.
"I became interested in writing when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was selling magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and Liberty, and I would read the stories, particularly the adventure and mystery stories, and think how wonderful it would be to be able to write stories and make a living at it. I also read detective, horror, aviation, and sports stories and decided I would try writing them myself.
Determined to sell, I wrote a detective story a week for 40 weeks, finding the time to marry, work, and play baseball and basketball before I sold my first story in 1941, "The Missing Finger Points," for $50 to Detective Story magazine.
After writing and selling children's sports stories to magazines, I decided to write a baseball book for children. I was living in Syracuse, New York at the time, working at General Electric. I spoke about my idea to the branch librarian. She was immediately interested and told me that they needed sports stories badly. So I came up with my first children's book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. I submitted it to Little, Brown, and the book was published in 1954.
I'm sure that playing sandlot baseball and then semiprofessional baseball with a Class C club in the Canadian-American League influenced my writing. I had my own personal experiences, and I saw how other players reacted to plays, to teammates' and fans' remarks and innuendoes, to managers' orders, etc. All these had a great influence on my writing. My love of the game helped a lot, too, of course.
Out of all the books I've written, my favorite is The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. It's a fantasy, but the main character in it could be real. There are a lot of boys who would love to play baseball but, for some reason, cannot. The only difference between a real-life boy and Sylvester Coddmyer III is the appearance of a character named George Baruth, whom only Sylvester can see and who helps Sylvester become a good ballplayer.
I've written many short stories and books for both children and adults, and find that writing for children is really my niche. Being the eldest of nine children (seven boys and two girls), I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.
Sports have made it possible for me to meet many people with all sorts of life stories, on and off the field, and these are grist for this writer's mill. I'm far beyond playing age now, but I manage to go to both kids' and adult games just to keep up with them, and keep them fresh in my mind.Very few things make me happier than receiving fan letters from boys and girls who write that they had never cared for reading until they started to read my books. That is just about the ultimate in writing for children. I would never trade it for another profession."
Matt Christopher died on September 27, 1997. His legacy is now being carried on by his sons, Duane and Dale Christopher.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
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December 23, 2015Plot: Meet Mac, a goalie for the Cougars soccer team. Mac has a special way with his words. He and his friends love to play soccer and Mac tries his best to help the team. One day, the school news article depicts Mac as a cocky know-it-all. Mac is torn apart by these accusations and tires to find the cartoonist that made a fool of him. By the conclusion of Soccer Scoop, Mac finds out that his words can hurt others and he betters his ways.
Characterization: Mac at first is a run of the mill youngster, running and talking a lot. As the plot deepens Mac becomes wary and anxious to find the truth. Near his breaking point, Mac begins to doubt his own friends and eventually pays for his mistakes.
Recommendations: I found this book entertaining for the soul factor of having the ability to mock the book. I did take it seriously but whenever Mac slipped up every other chapter, I would just point and laugh. People looking for a soccer related drama will enjoy this story. Any gender and age that enjoys soccer would find Soccer Scoop a good read. I personally give it 2 out of 5 stars.
Characterization: Mac at first is a run of the mill youngster, running and talking a lot. As the plot deepens Mac becomes wary and anxious to find the truth. Near his breaking point, Mac begins to doubt his own friends and eventually pays for his mistakes.
Recommendations: I found this book entertaining for the soul factor of having the ability to mock the book. I did take it seriously but whenever Mac slipped up every other chapter, I would just point and laugh. People looking for a soccer related drama will enjoy this story. Any gender and age that enjoys soccer would find Soccer Scoop a good read. I personally give it 2 out of 5 stars.
November 12, 2017
I'm trying to expand my horizons more as a reader in hopes of being able to recommend more to a wider audience, so this was my first foray into sports fiction. I can see why sporty kids would get into this, as descriptions of the game nicely tie in sports strategy and have a decent amount of interest and suspense. It's very short (113 pages) and moves quickly. This particular story also has an added mystery of who is publishing mean cartoons about the protagonist, a talkative goalie, in the school paper--not a super weighty take on the issue, since the cartoons are mostly just snide and he mostly wants to figure this out for his ego, but it adds a bit of interest. (The way the principal approaches the issue is interesting, though--saying that he can't do anything to censor the paper and that Mac should just ignore the cartoons--and makes me wonder how this topic might be treated differently today.) There's also some typical school stuff--like going to a school dance--to flesh out the characters a bit more than what we see on the field.
Based on the Goodreads information about Matt Christopher and the information in the beginning of the book, it looks like this was published shortly after Christopher died--which makes me wonder if this was his last/one of his last books, or if his sons took over and wrote this one. Either way, I was struck by how dated the characters' speech was: it felt like I was reading a book about kids in the 60s or 70s rather than late 90s, especially when it came to expressions like, "Hey, what do you know? It's X." While it was still a decent story, it made me wonder if the language would turn kids off, or if they would roll with it.
Based on the Goodreads information about Matt Christopher and the information in the beginning of the book, it looks like this was published shortly after Christopher died--which makes me wonder if this was his last/one of his last books, or if his sons took over and wrote this one. Either way, I was struck by how dated the characters' speech was: it felt like I was reading a book about kids in the 60s or 70s rather than late 90s, especially when it came to expressions like, "Hey, what do you know? It's X." While it was still a decent story, it made me wonder if the language would turn kids off, or if they would roll with it.
December 4, 2017
In this book, Mac is the star goalie of his team, the Cougars. Mac always talks to his teammates, and that scores him as a target for the weekly edition the "Chronicle." However, this doesn't sit well with Mac, and he wants to find out who was drawing the cartoons. He attempts to set up traps, but most of them fail. He ends up risking friendships, in an attempt to catch the culprit.
I loved this book, and I am looking forward to reading more like this. I liked the details put into the book, and how the characters seem alive. As the story went on, I was enticed to see more.
I'd recommend this book to anybody who likes sports, and mystery. Anyone who is interested in soccer, or anyone who likes to read action or mystery, this is for you.
I loved this book, and I am looking forward to reading more like this. I liked the details put into the book, and how the characters seem alive. As the story went on, I was enticed to see more.
I'd recommend this book to anybody who likes sports, and mystery. Anyone who is interested in soccer, or anyone who likes to read action or mystery, this is for you.
January 9, 2021
Poor, inaccurate descriptions of soccer. The ref blew the whistle for the two-minute warning? Uh oh.
April 20, 2021
I rate this book a 4 out of 5 for the following reasons;
This book is fun and I had a good time reading it when I have free time.
The book could have used more action or an injury, but it still is a good book and I definitely recommend this to anybody who doesn't love a long book or doesn't have a fun time reading many books. The book is easy and has plenty of action to keep you entertained with the drama and the soccer games. This game is so relatable for a soccer player and brings the joy of the game through a book and that is unbelievable!
The only reason I didn't rate this a 5 is that the book lacks entertainment in the school apartment of the whole experience. For instance with football, you have to pass to stay on the team and such. We didn't get that aspect in this book such as other books that involve sports. Even as a Junior High student I will read this again in the years to come.
This book is fun and I had a good time reading it when I have free time.
The book could have used more action or an injury, but it still is a good book and I definitely recommend this to anybody who doesn't love a long book or doesn't have a fun time reading many books. The book is easy and has plenty of action to keep you entertained with the drama and the soccer games. This game is so relatable for a soccer player and brings the joy of the game through a book and that is unbelievable!
The only reason I didn't rate this a 5 is that the book lacks entertainment in the school apartment of the whole experience. For instance with football, you have to pass to stay on the team and such. We didn't get that aspect in this book such as other books that involve sports. Even as a Junior High student I will read this again in the years to come.
October 17, 2024
There was nothing exciting about this book.
January 31, 2017
Have you ever wondered what to do when you are criticized and do not know who criticizes you?. In this realistic fiction book, whose title is Soccer Scoop by Matt Christopher. In my opinion is a really good book in which transmits some emotions and things that could happen in real life.
Mac Williams, the Cornwall Cougars goalkeeper, is a kid who is known for his "team instructions" during his games. But as he encounters a newspaper cartoon making a fool of him, in which everyone talks about at Cornwall school, he starts to get annoyed, and because of this he is determined to find the person behind the newspaper’s cartoons. It was so bad that he even suspected his friends. But as he gets a plan, he finds the person responsible for the cartoon. The theme that I think appeals to this book is that “Who criticizes others to improve, ends up being the criticized”, in which is something that Mac learns and goes though.
As for my analysis for this book. The title relates to the book because since the title is Soccer Scoop, and the book is about soccer, where Mac is the goalkeeper of the Cornwall Cougars, and the book includes Mac’s soccer games throughout the story, so there is one relationship. But on the second word, “Scoop”, relates to the content of the book because another meaning of “scoop” is “a piece of news published by a newspaper or a broadcast..”, relating to the book because in the book, Mac, tries to find the culprit behind the foolish newspaper cartoons, and also he asks his friend, Jimmy, who was a member of the school newspaper to help him figure out, and so he did help Mac. Adding to that, Jimmy makes newspaper’s headlines. Now if we relate back to the word of, ”scoop”, then that is how it relates to the story. Even, Mac said that, “this really is a soccer scoop”, a reference to the title, at the end of the story. Confirming my analysis.
As also for my opinion for this book, in which was great, I liked the way the author, Matt Christopher, gave details in Mac’s thinking in who were the suspects behind the newspaper cartoon because throughout the story, the details made me involved in the story, as the reader, to think the same way as the character. For instance, to infer who might of been the suspected, like Mac did. Also I was surprised to find who the culprit was as well as our character, Mac. (The culprit was the girlfriend of a teammate who was annoyed by Mac because he criticized his boyfriend on how he should play soccer, so that’s why she made the cartoons on the newspaper and she also was a member of the school newspaper). And finally I was satisfied by the end of the story, where everyone including Mac, his friends, teammates and the culprit laughed inharmony, as the culprit, Mac and a temate made up, and then everyone laughed and joked happily.
In conclusion, I rate this book from a 1-5 star rating scale, a 5, because it is one of the books that I really enjoyed reading, and I also liked it because I was a soccer book, in which soccer is my favorite sport and the selection of words that made reading this book smooth, I would recommend this book to people who like life-related lessons from the outside world and plus eo people who like reading a good sports book. Soccer Scoop, a book which teaches you a live lesson which may help you now or in the future, read it and you’ll learn it.
Mac Williams, the Cornwall Cougars goalkeeper, is a kid who is known for his "team instructions" during his games. But as he encounters a newspaper cartoon making a fool of him, in which everyone talks about at Cornwall school, he starts to get annoyed, and because of this he is determined to find the person behind the newspaper’s cartoons. It was so bad that he even suspected his friends. But as he gets a plan, he finds the person responsible for the cartoon. The theme that I think appeals to this book is that “Who criticizes others to improve, ends up being the criticized”, in which is something that Mac learns and goes though.
As for my analysis for this book. The title relates to the book because since the title is Soccer Scoop, and the book is about soccer, where Mac is the goalkeeper of the Cornwall Cougars, and the book includes Mac’s soccer games throughout the story, so there is one relationship. But on the second word, “Scoop”, relates to the content of the book because another meaning of “scoop” is “a piece of news published by a newspaper or a broadcast..”, relating to the book because in the book, Mac, tries to find the culprit behind the foolish newspaper cartoons, and also he asks his friend, Jimmy, who was a member of the school newspaper to help him figure out, and so he did help Mac. Adding to that, Jimmy makes newspaper’s headlines. Now if we relate back to the word of, ”scoop”, then that is how it relates to the story. Even, Mac said that, “this really is a soccer scoop”, a reference to the title, at the end of the story. Confirming my analysis.
As also for my opinion for this book, in which was great, I liked the way the author, Matt Christopher, gave details in Mac’s thinking in who were the suspects behind the newspaper cartoon because throughout the story, the details made me involved in the story, as the reader, to think the same way as the character. For instance, to infer who might of been the suspected, like Mac did. Also I was surprised to find who the culprit was as well as our character, Mac. (The culprit was the girlfriend of a teammate who was annoyed by Mac because he criticized his boyfriend on how he should play soccer, so that’s why she made the cartoons on the newspaper and she also was a member of the school newspaper). And finally I was satisfied by the end of the story, where everyone including Mac, his friends, teammates and the culprit laughed inharmony, as the culprit, Mac and a temate made up, and then everyone laughed and joked happily.
In conclusion, I rate this book from a 1-5 star rating scale, a 5, because it is one of the books that I really enjoyed reading, and I also liked it because I was a soccer book, in which soccer is my favorite sport and the selection of words that made reading this book smooth, I would recommend this book to people who like life-related lessons from the outside world and plus eo people who like reading a good sports book. Soccer Scoop, a book which teaches you a live lesson which may help you now or in the future, read it and you’ll learn it.
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September 28, 2007Mac Williams is an avid and passionate soccer player for the Cougars. Some of the players on the team think he is bossy and egotistical. One day the comic in the school paper decides to make fun of him. Due to its popularity, the comic begins making fun of him weekly. Could it be one of his own friends? Mac begins to think of ways to figure out who is doing this to him. The joke isn't funny anymore and it is interfering with his goalie performance. Matt Christopher is a very popular writer for all kinds of sports. Check out our huge collection in jjreaders and jfic.
Food for thought: Is it still a funny joke if it hurts someone's feelings?
Food for thought: Is it still a funny joke if it hurts someone's feelings?
November 9, 2016
What a great sports book--just what my sporty son needed to pull him back into the reading habit. (That and all the for-older-readers nonfiction picture books I could find in our library system.)
Mac is a big talker of a goalie, but a good one, and is used to getting a lot of praise. When the student newspaper has a string of anti-Mac cartoons in it, he's dismayed and mad. He gets to the bottom of it but also has to confront how others might feel hearing his constant string of critiques during games. Great book for kids.
Mac is a big talker of a goalie, but a good one, and is used to getting a lot of praise. When the student newspaper has a string of anti-Mac cartoons in it, he's dismayed and mad. He gets to the bottom of it but also has to confront how others might feel hearing his constant string of critiques during games. Great book for kids.
December 8, 2010
This book is a great book. It talks about a great goalkeeper, called Mac. He is really good, but he acts strangely during games. He is the captain of the team, but he yell so loudly that all the players can hear him. He always shows great attitudes, but he doesn't have a self control. He has to have the enough strength to handle his anger. I recommend this book to any sports lover.
March 14, 2013
A very good sports book wiht a good mix of game play and other interactions. Some of the soccer terminoligy was a little strange and not what is regurlarly used but over all a good bok for someone who likes soccer like I do. It does have some nice drama wiht the cartoonist leading to an exciting end.
September 2, 2013
I liked the fact that it was part mystery, part sports story. Looking at reviews, they mentioned how some of the language is silly for today but it was really only one kid who used weird phrases (dolled up, spiffy, etc) and better old school phrases than new ones that make it inappropriate.
September 22, 2015
This book is about a kid who is a goalie who gets made fun of in the school news paper I liked this book because its about soccer. I think you will like this book if you like solving mysteries and like soccer I also think this book teaches you a lesson to not go against your friends.
March 25, 2022
This is a good book for kids who like soccer, from age 5 to 15. Someone is making fun of the soccer goalie in the school newspaper. The boy tries to figure out who is doing it!
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August 31, 2011cooooooooooool
April 18, 2013
Really good book
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November 20, 2017It was really good!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews