Winners Never Quit! by Mia Hamm, illustrated by Carol Thompson

Winners Never Quit! by Mia Hamm, illustrated by Carol Thompson

Rating: 3.5 stars

Do you expect this book to be a bit cheesy?  Well, it is.  But it's still worth checking out and reading a few times.  Especially if you've got a Lorelei around who is a bit reluctant to get dirty, and more excited about reading and putting on plays.  That's important, but...I want my kids to strengthen their weaknesses, or develop skills in activities to which they aren't initially drawn.  Okay, and I do think that it's uber-important for girls to be strong and play sports...it doesn't hurt that a zillion statistics back me up on this one.

Mia still hated losing.  But she didn't hate losing
as much as she loved soccer.

Anyway, little Mia in the story plays soccer with her brothers and sisters, but gets frustrated when she doesn't score.  So she quits.  The next day when she wants to play with them again, they don't let her because "we don't want quitters on our team."  She pouts (of course) but is happy when they finally let her play.  This time, when she doesn't score, she channels her frustration well and decides that playing soccer is more important to her than winning or losing.

The pictures in the back are the best part--photos of her playing as a little girl, a teenager, and then in National Championships and the Olympics.  We're gearing up for the Olympics here in a few different ways, so any book we can get our hands on that includes any mention of the games...we're happy.

Not stellar, but good.