From the author of Ultimate Football Heroes comes the first book in the new Johnny Ball series, perfect reading for football-mad kids

Johnny Ball LOVES football. He loves reading about it, talking about it, watching it - and he loves playing it too. He's a good player, but not quite good enough to make the Tissbury Primary School team for the super-huge Under-11s County Cup. But never mind, because their clueless coach, Mr Mann, has a special role for Johnny: ASSISTANT MANAGER! With only Grandpa George's old scarf, a 'pocket' notebook and his brilliant football brain, can Johnny lead the Tissbury Primary team all the way to County Cup glory?

About the Author

Matt Oldfield grew up in Southampton, playing football with his brother Tom. The two brothers are the authors of the bestselling Ultimate Football Heroes series - fun football biographies that tell the exciting life stories of superstars like Gareth Bale, Lionel Messi and Mo Salah, from the playground through to the pitch. The Johnny Ball books are Matt's first fiction series.
Tim Wesson draws for both children and adults. He illustrates for France magazine every month and has also illustrated for other clients including Habitat, SWATCH, Paperchase, BBC, Peagreen and many others.

Reviews
Featured in The Bookseller June Previews. -- Fiona Noble * The Bookseller *
This is the first part of a new series by Matt Oldfield, and is written with great style and humour. The illustrations throughout the book by Tim Wesson complement the story really well. * The School Librarian *

Please read some lovely reviews from Toppsta.com below:

"It was a fantastic book and it blew my mind. Note from parent: my son absolutely loved this book and didn't want it to end. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it to him."

"This book is fantastic for key stage 2. My key worker group loved it! They all listened intently as I read it aloud. Johnny Ball is a great character that we could all identify with and the story is really well written with great illustrations and a super storyline. I'm going to read it to my 6 year old now too. I would definitely buy more Johnny Ball books!"

"I'm going to dress up like Johnny Ball for World Book Day next year!"

"Alexander loves this book, it could have been written about him as his whole world at the moment is Football, just like the main character Johnny Ball. He talks about it non-stop, watches it, reads about it so this book is right up his street, he found it extremely entertaining. A fabulous book. Very good illustrations all in black and white."

* Toppsta.com *
This is a delightful story that will be perfect not just for football fans but also for those who want a funny and quirky feel-good read for age 8+. * The English Association *


Awards
Short-listed for Sports Book Award 2021 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9781406391268
Author Matt Oldfield
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint Walker Books Ltd
Publisher Walker Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 190g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 14mm