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Posted 20 hours ago

Kick

£3.995£7.99Clearance
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However, forgetting about the target audience and doing my job as a book reviewer, I would certainly say that the merits of this book are so much higher than that cover. The last thing Budi needs is to inadvertently become involved with The Dragon – the most feared man in Jakarta. Two things that I really enjoyed about this book is that it is very beautifully written and that it has a good understanding of how poor people can't just be bad at all things just because they don't have enough money. They have the posters on the walls, they can name all the players, they worship their favourite player and they never miss a game. I found this book to be really eye-opening and could provide children with insight into what life might be like for children in other parts of the world.

Kick | Usborne | Be Curious Kick | Usborne | Be Curious

One day his life changes when he accidentally kicks the ball through the window of corrupt local money-lender The Dragon. He’s going to play for the greatest team on earth, rather than in the square behind the factory where he works.It had too much more than I expected from a children's book about football, which I have dealt with a lot lately. This book would make an excellent discussion topic for classes, looking at children in other cultures, poverty, exploitation, and even natural disasters.

Kick | BookTrust Kick | BookTrust

He and his friends work in a shoe factory where they are beaten if they fail to fill their daily quota. The book shows the wider aspects of life in Indonesia: the oppressive dry season giving way to the tropical monsoons, the impact of earthquakes, and the under-the-surface corruption. Now more than ever, I believe we need characters like Budi who are filled with goodness and dreams and the desire for a better world. Fearing the faint tremor of an earthquake and the crack in his ceiling surely getting bigger, with time ticking will Budi be able to make things right? I also do question though some of Budi's reasoning in this novel-why would he give his best friend money and not keep any for himself, particularly when he and his family are so poor?I think everyone should read this whether you like football or not, because it is such an important story, tackling real issues, but so full of heart and hope. Keputusan tepat MJ— lebih nyaman memanggilnya begitu HEHE— mengeksekusi konfliknya secara perlahan dan menyenangkan, tak ada kesan terburu-buru di bagian manapun, hanya saja karena di puluhan halaman pembuka seperti yang kupaparkan di review sebelumnya— tepatnya penghantar konfliknya bisa kubilang sangat membosankan, karena itu 3. To make the book better, I would keep all the plotline and keep all the themes but just make the STYLE of the book a bit more adult! To conclude this book provides opportunity for discussions into topics such as; poverty, privilege, imbalances compared to westernised culture and child labour, whilst also providing an enjoyable story for young readers. When he accidentally breaks something belonging to the Dragon, the local gang boss, he gets pulled into a chain of evens that see him making increasingly tough decisions about his family, his long lost uncle, his best friend and his footballing dreams.

Kick by Mitch Johnson | Waterstones Kick by Mitch Johnson | Waterstones

However, I would encourage those unfamiliar children (as well as the familiar children) to pick up this book to read. But one unlucky kick brings Budi's world crashing down, because now he owes the Dragon, the most dangerous man in all Jakarta.

I particularly enjoyed the scenes with Budi and his grandmother - a chain-smoking, housebound character - who provides wonderful stories to teach her grandson some important lessons in life. The book shows his struggles trying to earn some money to support his family and to make it is a professional footballer. There is a lot of focus on the situation seeming near to impossible at first sight and the people in the audience thinking he won't manage it, yet we still see the football player just concentrating so intently despite all the difficulties and he does eventually score the penalty. The writing style in this is, most of the time, quite plain: it is very compatible with children between the ages of 12-15 maybe and there is something in the writing style which reminded me a lot of how YA books are written, in general. The child-labour described in this story remind us that there are parts of the world where education is a luxury; children have bring in money to support the family.

kick | mitch johnson kick | mitch johnson

I feel that the themes of this book are really important and that it would be a worthwhile class read! In fact, Budi knows that on Fridays he won't get anything to eat for dinner, until his father is paid next. Budi (the main character) continues to follow his dreams to be like his hero someday, even with a lot of trouble thrown in his path. One of his jobs is sewing, hence the sewn writing on the cover for the word KICK and the sewn thread design through the book at the opening of chapters. Ways of doing that might have been to make the book a bit longer and to make the writing style a bit more literary and just to expand on the themes and story perspective.He's going to be a star, instead of sweating over each football boot he makes, each stitch he sews, each box he packages.

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