Football Academy: The Real Thing

Tom Palmer's Football Academy: The Real Thing is a football story for 8 year olds about a young goalkeeper going back to Poland with his English team.

What happens

Tomasz moved to England with his mum and dad just over a year ago. He keeps goal for United's under-twelves. He still wears his Legia Warsaw shirt to matches, and Ryan, the team captain, never lets him forget it.

So when Steve announces a European tournament in Poland, Tomasz can hardly breathe for excitement. He counts the hours (forty-five and a quarter, to be precise). His cousins will be at every game. And the trophy is named after his dad's great hero, the old Poland keeper Tomasz was named after.

This time you get both sides of the story. One chapter you're with Tomasz, tired of being made to feel stupid because his English isn't perfect. The next you're with Ryan, who is quietly terrified of flying and wishes his mum was there to grab hold of.

That bit on the plane is brilliant. Ryan counts to sixty, grips the armrests and promises himself that if they land safely he'll be nice to Tomasz. Will he keep it? You'll want to know.

There's plenty of football too. A 5-1 thrashing by Newcastle to start, then Legia, AC Milan and Real Madrid. Ryan's dream is to be spotted by Real. And Tomasz finds out a Poland youth coach has come to watch him, which is great news right up until it puts him off his game.

The coach's marks out of ten for every player come between chapters, which football fans will love.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

Ryan says some nasty things about Poland and Polish people. At the airport he holds his nose and announces that Poland stinks. Steve takes him aside about it, and the story is clearly on Tomasz's side. At a party, a group of lads in leather jackets shove James, one of only two Black boys in the room, and Tomasz is sure it wasn't an accident.

For a child who's been on the receiving end of comments like that, it could sting. It might also lead to a really useful conversation, and seeing Ryan through his own eyes makes him much more than a villain.

What to read next

If your reader is new to the Academy, Boys United is where it all starts. Jake turns up for his trial at United after being told by club after club that he's too small to make it.