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The Ultimate Goal
From Tommy Greenwald, the acclaimed author of Game Changer , and artist Lesley Vamos, Ultimate Goal is the first title in the hilarious, heavily illustrated chapter book series the Good Sports League.
Ben Cutler loves everything about soccer! He’s got a great team, and they have the best pregame chants and half-time jokes. He and his best friend, Jay-Jay, even invent dances for when they score a goal! And Ben is good at soccer. Like REALLY good. Too good for a casual rec team. Soon, he’s recruited for a travel team.
His new team plays amazingly well, but they take soccer super seriously. No pregame chants, no juice-box breaks, and the most important rule of NO DANCING. Even though his new team is winning all the time, Ben is left to wonder, Is winning all that matters in the end?
Includes a sneak peek of the second Good Sports League book, Perfect Pitch
Ben Cutler loves everything about soccer! He’s got a great team, and they have the best pregame chants and half-time jokes. He and his best friend, Jay-Jay, even invent dances for when they score a goal! And Ben is good at soccer. Like REALLY good. Too good for a casual rec team. Soon, he’s recruited for a travel team.
His new team plays amazingly well, but they take soccer super seriously. No pregame chants, no juice-box breaks, and the most important rule of NO DANCING. Even though his new team is winning all the time, Ben is left to wonder, Is winning all that matters in the end?
Includes a sneak peek of the second Good Sports League book, Perfect Pitch
160 pages, Paperback
Published August 15, 2023
13 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Tommy Greenwald
43 books188 followersTommy Greenwald's book GAME CHANGER has been named an Amazon Best Book Of The Month, a 2019 YALSA Top Ten Pick for Reluctant Readers, and a Junior Library Guild Premier Selection. Tommy is also the author of the CRIMEBITERS, CHARLIE JOE JACKSON and PROJECT Z series, among many other books for children.
Day-job-wise, Tommy is the Co-Founder of Spotco Advertising, an entertainment advertising agency in New York City, and the lyricist and co-bookwriter of JOHN & JEN, an off-Broadway musical.
To read woefully outdated information about Tommy, visit tommygreenwald.com. (To send an email telling him how much you liked whatever book it was that you just read, holla at tommy@tommygreenwald.com.)
Day-job-wise, Tommy is the Co-Founder of Spotco Advertising, an entertainment advertising agency in New York City, and the lyricist and co-bookwriter of JOHN & JEN, an off-Broadway musical.
To read woefully outdated information about Tommy, visit tommygreenwald.com. (To send an email telling him how much you liked whatever book it was that you just read, holla at tommy@tommygreenwald.com.)
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 19, 2023
Copy provided by the publisher
Ben Cutler LOVES soccer. He's on a local Pizza League team, the Anchovies, with his friend Jay-Jay, and after playing hard on the field, they celebrate their successes with goofy dances and lots of homemade baked goods provided by their parents. The referees are high school students, and the parents and siblings get involved, as does Ben's dog, Lola, on occasion. When the coach of the local travel team, West Harbor Soccer Academy, approaches Ben to play for him, Ben is pleased that his talents are noticed, and his parents let him sign up. This means leaving Jay-Jay behind and playing with classmates Lucas, Matty, and Andre. Standards are a little higher; the coach derides Ben's worn out cleats, and he has to get new ones. There are no celebratory dances, and the snacks are carrot sticks and more carrot sticks. Things are intense on the field, and Coach Cleary comes down hard on any breaking of the rules. Ben starts to miss the free wheeling fun of the Anchovies, and the lack of joy in the sport shows in how the team plays against Jogo Bonito, a team the coach has been holding up as a paragon of skill all season. Will Ben be able to continue his soccer career when it has become more work than play?
Greenwald deftly merges the humor and heart of his Charlie Joe Jackson series with the sports of his Rivals and Game Changers for an excellent middle grade book that strikes at the heart of a critical issue with youth sports: how serious does a "game" need to be. I loved seeing Ben and Jay-Jay's joy when they had a good play, and the casual chaos of a child centered approach to sports was great to see. Coach Cleary was intense, and clearly had a different approach, but he wasn't demonized. Instead, his players were able to help him understand why they really wanted to play the game, and why having fun was important to their success. After my years coaching cross country, I know that it's a fine line to walk. Players want to do well, but too much pressure doesn't help. I never criticized my runners if they wanted to run down hills shouting "For Narnia!" even if it added a second or two off their time.
The format of this book is the perfect amalgam of pictures and text. Charlie Joe Jackson had occasional page decorations, but this has introductory sections in graphic novel format. The narrator of these, Frederick Ulysses Nimbleshank, could have been left unnamed and made a bit older to draw in a wider range of readers, but young soccer fans are just going to be lured in to the book by seeing that pictures are involved. There are also more page decorations scattered throughout the book, which makes a huge difference for reluctant readers. The ARC had very rough drawings, but they were placed throughout the text with a little more frequency than many books, which is great. I've bemoaned the lack of sports graphic novels, but this is even better. There's enough text to give more satisfying details about the games and the character development, so this will make both tweens and the adults in their lives happy.
There aren't a lot of sports books that detail the emotions that players have when they don't do well, but this is a huge issue in middle school. A bad day on the playing field can carry over to school and home, especially if parents or coaches are putting undue pressure. Bad days at school can also carry onto the field. I was glad to see that Ben talked to a variety of people and was able to voice his feelings to his coach. Mental health issues have come into a lot of middle grade novels in the last five years, but few of them are as constructive in their approach.
While soccer isn't the most requested sport in literature (that would be football, with basketball close behind), I am seeing more and more readers who are heavily invested in the sport, and many of these are English Language Learners. As Ben's sister Ellie might say, The Ultimate Goal is a home run, touchdown, slam dunk of a book!
Ben Cutler LOVES soccer. He's on a local Pizza League team, the Anchovies, with his friend Jay-Jay, and after playing hard on the field, they celebrate their successes with goofy dances and lots of homemade baked goods provided by their parents. The referees are high school students, and the parents and siblings get involved, as does Ben's dog, Lola, on occasion. When the coach of the local travel team, West Harbor Soccer Academy, approaches Ben to play for him, Ben is pleased that his talents are noticed, and his parents let him sign up. This means leaving Jay-Jay behind and playing with classmates Lucas, Matty, and Andre. Standards are a little higher; the coach derides Ben's worn out cleats, and he has to get new ones. There are no celebratory dances, and the snacks are carrot sticks and more carrot sticks. Things are intense on the field, and Coach Cleary comes down hard on any breaking of the rules. Ben starts to miss the free wheeling fun of the Anchovies, and the lack of joy in the sport shows in how the team plays against Jogo Bonito, a team the coach has been holding up as a paragon of skill all season. Will Ben be able to continue his soccer career when it has become more work than play?
Greenwald deftly merges the humor and heart of his Charlie Joe Jackson series with the sports of his Rivals and Game Changers for an excellent middle grade book that strikes at the heart of a critical issue with youth sports: how serious does a "game" need to be. I loved seeing Ben and Jay-Jay's joy when they had a good play, and the casual chaos of a child centered approach to sports was great to see. Coach Cleary was intense, and clearly had a different approach, but he wasn't demonized. Instead, his players were able to help him understand why they really wanted to play the game, and why having fun was important to their success. After my years coaching cross country, I know that it's a fine line to walk. Players want to do well, but too much pressure doesn't help. I never criticized my runners if they wanted to run down hills shouting "For Narnia!" even if it added a second or two off their time.
The format of this book is the perfect amalgam of pictures and text. Charlie Joe Jackson had occasional page decorations, but this has introductory sections in graphic novel format. The narrator of these, Frederick Ulysses Nimbleshank, could have been left unnamed and made a bit older to draw in a wider range of readers, but young soccer fans are just going to be lured in to the book by seeing that pictures are involved. There are also more page decorations scattered throughout the book, which makes a huge difference for reluctant readers. The ARC had very rough drawings, but they were placed throughout the text with a little more frequency than many books, which is great. I've bemoaned the lack of sports graphic novels, but this is even better. There's enough text to give more satisfying details about the games and the character development, so this will make both tweens and the adults in their lives happy.
There aren't a lot of sports books that detail the emotions that players have when they don't do well, but this is a huge issue in middle school. A bad day on the playing field can carry over to school and home, especially if parents or coaches are putting undue pressure. Bad days at school can also carry onto the field. I was glad to see that Ben talked to a variety of people and was able to voice his feelings to his coach. Mental health issues have come into a lot of middle grade novels in the last five years, but few of them are as constructive in their approach.
While soccer isn't the most requested sport in literature (that would be football, with basketball close behind), I am seeing more and more readers who are heavily invested in the sport, and many of these are English Language Learners. As Ben's sister Ellie might say, The Ultimate Goal is a home run, touchdown, slam dunk of a book!
October 31, 2023
Children's fiction, contemporary realistic-- sports focus. Ben is a soccer player on the Anchovies team in the Pizza League. It's a casual league, he plays with his friends, and dancing after each goal scored is his favorite tradition. But Ben is consistently the top scorer on the team, and soon gets head-hunted by a travel team coach. At first Ben is excited by the awesome uniform but quickly learns that this really is a different league. He gets the unfortunate nickname "Cleatus" and gets reprimanded often by the coach. His team keeps winning, but Ben feels nervous and stressed, not at all how he used to feel while playing soccer.
This is a sports book, and there certainly is plenty of sports content. But I will admit this exceeded my expectations. Ben navigates the changing relationship with his best friend after they have different soccer schedules. He learns to speak up for himself without being mean. And he reminds the reader what "love of the game" is all about. The text has lots of illustrations, and also graphic novel style breaks. Combined with the clear approachable font, this book is approachable for those just getting into longer chapter books.
This is a sports book, and there certainly is plenty of sports content. But I will admit this exceeded my expectations. Ben navigates the changing relationship with his best friend after they have different soccer schedules. He learns to speak up for himself without being mean. And he reminds the reader what "love of the game" is all about. The text has lots of illustrations, and also graphic novel style breaks. Combined with the clear approachable font, this book is approachable for those just getting into longer chapter books.
August 28, 2024
Ben Cutler is not just good at soccer, but he's really good. A member of the Anchovies team, Ben loves the game and enthusiastically celebrates his goals with an improv dance that usually results in his best pal, Jay Jay, as well as other boys on the team, joining in. Ben's skills don't go unnoticed when Coach Cleary of the West Harbor Soccer Academy invites Ben to come play on their team. With the best players of the county on this team, Ben knows this is an offer too good to pass up. But when it becomes quickly evident that soccer is taken way more seriously at West Harbor than Ben is used to, Ben wonders if he should really stay on the team or not.
Written in third person POV, there is also a narrator/announcer who occasionally breaks into the story in graphic novel, speaking directly to the reader in second person as well. I think this will be a fun book for several of our soccer loving students whose skills also run the gambit like this story. We have soccer loving intramural kids where allplayers make the team, to those students who play in soccer clubs/academies outside of school as well.
Written in third person POV, there is also a narrator/announcer who occasionally breaks into the story in graphic novel, speaking directly to the reader in second person as well. I think this will be a fun book for several of our soccer loving students whose skills also run the gambit like this story. We have soccer loving intramural kids where allplayers make the team, to those students who play in soccer clubs/academies outside of school as well.
November 9, 2023
A great hybrid early reader novel—has a mix of graphic novel/comics style pages, standard text and spot illustrations. Ben Cutler, who previously played soccer on a low-key rec league, joins the ultra-competitive club team and has to figure out how to stay joyful under pressure.
This was the first chapter book I could get my sporty kid (8yo) interested in. It was easy for me to read out loud and it dives in to juicy topics like cutthroat club soccer and kids getting burned out by the high pressure sports environment that is increasingly common in the US. The way the illustrations are handled is very clever— most of the comics pages show the action-packed games.
I’m eager to see what’s in store for this series! Will Annabella get her own book? Is a basketball or tennis story in the pipeline?
This was the first chapter book I could get my sporty kid (8yo) interested in. It was easy for me to read out loud and it dives in to juicy topics like cutthroat club soccer and kids getting burned out by the high pressure sports environment that is increasingly common in the US. The way the illustrations are handled is very clever— most of the comics pages show the action-packed games.
I’m eager to see what’s in store for this series! Will Annabella get her own book? Is a basketball or tennis story in the pipeline?
December 17, 2023
Ben loves playing soccer. He's on the Anchovies as part of the Pizza League, a recreation level league where kids have cool chants, do awesome moves after scoring a goal, eat delicious snacks at half-time and at the end of the game, and just have fun. When a coach for a club team sees him play, he invites Ben to join his advanced team, and it's a big change. A change that Ben isn't sure he likes. This story happens a lot to kids who do different activities. After a certain point, you either really pursue the activity (and invest a lot of time and money) or you don't really improve. Very relatable while also being fun and action-packed. I love the mix of text for the main story and then panels for the play-by-play during the soccer games. A great sport series for those just past first chapter books.
August 20, 2024
This was a super quick and easy read. Definitely great for kids. I liked how it was actually mainly focused on sports, and while the problem/plot was based on something that could be a universal problem, it stayed focused on the sports element of it.
The characters were great and I really liked how they developed over the course of the book. It was well paced, and while there was not excessive detail, the detail was enough, and aided by illustrations.
I liked the additional almost comic scene interjections that were added at various points through the book, including right at the beginning and end, that added to the story.
Well written and enjoyable, and I would absolutely recommend it to kids looking for sports themed books.
The characters were great and I really liked how they developed over the course of the book. It was well paced, and while there was not excessive detail, the detail was enough, and aided by illustrations.
I liked the additional almost comic scene interjections that were added at various points through the book, including right at the beginning and end, that added to the story.
Well written and enjoyable, and I would absolutely recommend it to kids looking for sports themed books.
January 17, 2024
Breezy, half-illustrated sports fiction for grades 2-4, with a good message about the pressure to succeed and the ways adults can impact student enjoyment of sports. Humor and silliness along with lots of play-by-play action as the main character tries to decide between being the big fish in a small pond or pushing into elite teams. Chapters are short, dialogue is believable, illustrations (even the black and white tentative ones I saw in my ARC) seem to add a lot of interest.
Includes activities at the end.
https://x.com/towntaker/status/174766...
Includes activities at the end.
https://x.com/towntaker/status/174766...
May 2, 2024
This is the 4th sports related book I’ve read by Tommy. His middle-grade titles were fantastic. The Ultimate Goal is written for elementary grades but I could see middle schoolers enjoying this as well. Soccer is a huge in my area and not many fiction books are written for this age group. On top of the sports fiction appeal, it is written combining two types of writing: narrative and graphic novel which will appeal to so many types of readers.
Highly recommended. Can’t wait to read book 2 in the series.
Highly recommended. Can’t wait to read book 2 in the series.
February 9, 2025
The Good Sports League: The Ultimate Goal is a fantastic story about perseverance, growth, and finding balance in competitive sports. Young readers will connect with Ben as he navigates the pressures of moving from a recreation team to an academy league, learning that success isn’t just about winning—it’s about enjoying the game. The book delivers an engaging mix of humor and heart, making it both entertaining and meaningful. With a great message about hard work, resilience, and fun, this is a must-read for kids who love sports!
July 25, 2024
I read this book with my fourth graders. I love that they were able to see the transition of the main character and the importance of team spirit. Additionally, it allowed me to discuss homographs with them, goal as a soccer point and goal as in ambition.
A great activity to do with the readers is to complete a vision board of sorts to help students think about their goals, whether it's in the next year, month, or further in the future.
Overall, it was a really good read.
A great activity to do with the readers is to complete a vision board of sorts to help students think about their goals, whether it's in the next year, month, or further in the future.
Overall, it was a really good read.
August 23, 2023
Funny and formatted with sketches (I think? This is an ARC so the illustrations aren’t finalized) throughout - so super appealing for 2nd-5th grade readers. “Is winning all that matters in the end?” is the real question in this sports-focused story, and I absolutely loved the message and how it was delivered. This is a great book. :-)
April 14, 2023
An exceptional early reader chapter book. New series that sports loving children (or any children) will really enjoy. Engaging with lots of illustrations throughout. Great for struggling and reluctant readers as well.
September 24, 2023
I have no doubt that a kid reading this would give it 5 stars, but as an adult I know youth coaches don’t change so easily. What I love about this book is that it will encourage readers to stand up for who they are, especially if they are someone that wants to have fun doing the things they love.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2024
Super cute, heavily illustrated book about a kid who changes soccer teams because he has talent but the new team takes themselves way too seriously. The illustrations give Proud Family vibes. Very enjoyable.
November 22, 2023
First in a heavily illustrated series! Ben is great at soccer and is recruited to play at a higher level. But all the fun is gone!
April 11, 2024
Cute. The kids will love this one 😊
July 14, 2024
#sports #soccer #priorities #partgraphicnovel
July 21, 2024
Good story about being yourself.
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August 4, 2024Book 4/15 of SSYRA
Kids will enjoy this one as well.
Kids will enjoy this one as well.
December 8, 2024
A cute, simple story about soccer and teamwork.
December 28, 2024
The Boy’s SSYRA book. This one was his least favorite this year. I asked him why and he said “there wasn’t much to it.” He prefers a more toothsome book with something to chew on, I guess.
July 23, 2025
Again, why is this a book for fifth graders?
July 18, 2024
SSYRA 3-5 24-25, Boys Read Elementary 23-24
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews