You Are a Champion

Marcus Rashford and Carl Anka's You Are a Champion is a warm, chatty book for 9 year olds that mixes stories from his own childhood with ideas for being the best version of yourself.

What happens

It opens with things you probably didn't know about him. He loved strawberry cream biscuits. His favourite Ninja Turtle was Donatello. He wasn't a great swimmer, and he shared a bunk bed with his brother Dane in Wythenshawe.

When he was about four or five, he used to follow Dane and his mates to the park. Often they wouldn't let him play (some of them had football boots and he didn't). So he stood on the sidelines doing kick-ups with a tiny ball instead. He says now that all that time on the edge turned out to be really useful.

That's how the whole book works. A story from his life, then what he learned from it, then a few questions for your reader to think about or chat through with someone.

The stories are the best bit. There's the booklet of football skills from the Manchester United academy, where he refused to peek at the last page. There's the trick he kept practising long after it was good enough. And there's the nervous boy who hated reading out loud in class.

He talks to the reader like a big brother would. Lots of it is in CAPITALS for emphasis. There's even a bit where he asks you to stick your tongue out and blow a raspberry. (Go on, you know you want to.)

Is it a football book? Partly. But you really don't need to love football to get a lot out of it. It's mostly about not comparing yourself with other people, and working on the things you can actually control.

It would suit a child who's a bit hard on themselves, or one who's just starting to dream big about something. Some of the questions are lovely to do together at bedtime.

What to read next

If this one hits the spot, try another of his books, You Can Do It. It opens with the penalty he missed in the Euro 2020 final, the horrible messages he got the next day and the kindness that helped him through.