Thank you for the opportunity to submit SOFIA, SOCCER STAR, a contemporary, chapter book complete at 11K.

Sofia is sick of all the attention her big brother, Antonio, gets for being the soccer star of the family. His team has won every end-of-season Trophy Cup since he started playing and he won’t let anyone forget. If she could win the Trophy Cup she could prove to Antonio and her family she can be a star, too. Stakes climb higher with prize tickets to the biggest soccer game her town has ever seen. Soccer, it turns out, isn’t as easy as it looks. Being a team player is even harder. Even worse-a cruel encounter on the field leaves her embarrassed of her Mexican roots. She’ll need to learn mad soccer skills and give it her all to conquer this field and her insecurities.

Reminiscent of the sports books by Jake Maddox with the tone of Amina’s Voice, SOFIA SOCCER STAR is relevant for readers who want a soccer book full of heart.

I am an active member of SCBWI and a mother to three active, soccer-loving girls. I have a BA in English and an MA in Education. My children think my main goal in life is to get them to speak to me Spanish. It’s not. I would love for them to be authentic. And then speak to me in Spanish.

Thank you for your time.

Dinner with my family is a musical experience but maybe not the kind of music you want to listen to. Plates clang, spoons scrape the sides of serving dishes and always three different conversations chatter on at once. It’s as if my tios and tias haven’t seen each other in weeks and hadn’t just spoken on the phone or texted each other earlier today.

I scrunched my soccer ball themed dinner napkin in my hands. Most family dinners were just regular dinners, but tonight we were celebrating the start of soccer season.