The Beautiful Game

(Paperback)

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Description

At an Old Trafford game, Lennie hears Man U fans chanting about Hillsborough. Enraged, he joins in with a retaliatory chant about the Munich Disaster of '58. Appalled, his dad and granddad take Lennie on a whistlestop tour of the dark side of the beautiful game. Dad and Grandad know only too well the human cost of fan violence and official negligence, having experience racism in football fandom and survived the Hillsborough disaster.
Interwoven with lots of facts about the history of football, the great disasters of the twentieth century and the black footballers who blazed a trail in the UK, this book is ideal to engage reluctant reading football fans.

Reviews

"Writing well for younger or reluctant readers is a real skill and Gibbons is brilliant at it a touching and necessary tribute" -- The Letterpress Project
"Examines the worst events in football in a way that enables young fans to understand what happened and why. A fan himself, [Alan Gibbons'] book still celebrates the best of football too as a way to bring people together" -- LoveReading4Kids
"This book is ideal to engage reluctant reading football fans. It's a really insightful read, worthy of the widest possible audience" -- Parents in Touch
"Perhaps only Alan Gibbons who has foot in both Manchester and Liverpool's tight-knit communities - could have written such a well-rounded and informative short story. Highly recommended for reluctant readers and football addicts alike" -- The School Librarian

"Written with reluctant readers in mind, the writing is clear and compelling. Also featuring interesting fact sheets that will please the most history-hungry fans, this book is a top scorer" -- CBI

Author Bio

Alan Gibbons has written over 60 books and won many prestigious awards such as the Blue Peter Award for 'The Book I Couldn't Put Down', the Angus Book Award and the Stockport Book Award. He has also been shortlisted twice for the Carnegie Medal and his books have been published into dozens of languages. As well as being a writer, Alan is a high profile library campaigner.