Soccer Queens

Charles R. Smith Jr.'s "Soccer Queens" is an exhilarating collection of twelve poems that pay tribute to the skill, talent, and ferocity of top female soccer players, including icons from the 1999 US World Cup team and emerging stars. The book combines dynamic rhyme with bold, graphic photo-illustrations to create an engaging experience for young readers aged 4-11. It's designed to inspire both budding poets and sports fans, celebrating perseverance, teamwork, and the joy of the game while offering powerful role models in women's sports.

The Coretta Scott King Award–winning creator of Hoop Kings celebrates the skill and talent of top female soccer professionals—and pays homage to the legendary US World Cup team of 1999. Soccer, fútbol, call it what you will—the sport commands worldwide attention, and Charles R. Smith Jr. pays tribute to the sport’s greatest US athletes in poems that hum with energy and life. Whether the subject is an escape artist like Rose Lavelle, a rocket like Megan Rapinoe, or the exploits of the legendary ’99ers, who kicked their names into history, this celebration of the finesse and ferocity of players from the Women's National Soccer League excels with dynamic rhyme and bold, graphic photo-illustration. Featuring current and past stars as well as emerging players—in cleats that “churn and burn and fly”—the twelve poems in this rapid-fire collection will inspire young poets and sports fans alike to find their game and be their best.