This book is a great quick and easy read for kids who are looking for something not too time-consuming. This book entails a journey of three 13-year-old friends trying to solve the mystery of the missing soccer trophy that went missing years ago from the town library. Between soccer practice, soccer tournaments, and school, Aiden, Ava, and Daniel do their best to solve the mystery of what happened to the trophy. Eventually, after some time of digging and research, they were finally able to solve the mystery. The ending of the book was a very satisfying ending, as we get to hear why it was stolen. If you like short reads and mysteries, this book is for you!
Soccer Trophy Mystery (Fred Bowen Sports Story Series, 24)
By Bowen, Fred
Fred Bowen is back with more soccer action--and a mystery--in his newest Sports Story, perfect for fans of Mike Lupica and Tim Green.
While soccer-playing twins Aiden and Ava lead their teams to a championship season, they try to solve the mystery of their town’s missing soccer trophy.
Thirteen-year-old twins Aiden and Ava and their good friend Daniel, all avid soccer players, have just learned their county league soccer trophy mysteriously disappeared forty years ago from the town library. It was never recovered. So between games and practices for the town’s soccer championships, the three friends try to solve the case.
But will these amateur detectives be able to unravel the mystery and find someone who had both motive and opportunity to commit the crime? Will their teams make it all the way to the championships?
Award-winning author and Washington Post KidsPost sports columnist Fred Bowen returns with another installment in his Sports Story Series, this time tackling important topics like equal recognition for women in sports. At the end of the book, Bowen includes "The Real Story" behind the disappearance of the original World Cup trophy.
Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company
ISBN-13: 9781682630785
ISBN-10: 1682630781
Published on 9/1/2021
Binding: Hardcover
Number of pages: 144
Book Reviews (11)
Aiden plays soccer on the Thunder team with his friend Daniel, and they are bound and determined to win the trophy this year. When they go to the library with Aiden's twin sister Ava to get copies of Wharton's The Age of Innocence for school, they learn from the librarian that the trophy is question is a replacement, the original one having been stolen from the library forty years previously. The mystery was never solved, and since the twins' grandmother had been a librarian at that time, they decide to investigate. Their grandmother is 84, and her memory is not the best, but she does give them a few clues. They interview the police chief at the time, who is very helpful and interested, as well as the soccer coach, who is not. Daniel mentions that this is not the first missing soccer trophy, and the trio delve into the story of the disappearance of the World Cup trophy in 1983, which has never been solved. When the solution to the mystery ends up being closer to home than they ever imagined, how will they handle it? Strengths: They are short, strong enough on sports details that I don't quite understand some of them (which is a GOOD thing), and have characters who work really well together. Adding an element of mystery to this is perfect, and a great way to let fans of early chapter book mysteries like Ron Roy's or David A. Kelly's Ballpark Mysteries challenge themselves a bit. The retro cover is attractive, and different from the regular sports books, and there's a bit more sports history than Bowen usually has, which is interesting, but the girl power message remains strong. I'm curious to see if Aiden and Ava get to do more investigation. Weaknesses: Bowen hasn't written much in the way of mysteries, so there are a few clunky moments when the kids decide to investigate that could have been avoided. The slight Encyclopedia Brown vibe will work well with younger students, but older ones who love mysteries will expect a more serious mystery. Think Souders' Coop Knows the Scoop-- it's a historical MURDER mystery. It was a bit unnerving when the kids went to visit the former police chief and he just invited them into his house to chat. Sure, Encyclopedia would have done that, but that seems like a bad idea in 2021. What I really think: Sports books are always super popular in my library, and Bowen's books see high circulation. It's good to see that Bowen made it to first base with this book, but it wasn't quite a home run.
Aiden and Ava are twins who have at least one thing in common: they love soccer. And in the midst of their final games, they learn about the mysterious theft of a soccer trophy over forty years ago! So along with their friend Daniel, they delve into the perplexing circumstances surrounding the theft. But one question continues to baffle them. Why would anyone want to steal a kid's soccer trophy? This story was pretty cool, and actually included some history about the actual theft of the world cup. It was also a nice story about family, and how not everybody is perfect.
This was a great book! It was super fun and really kept my interest. Perfect for anyone who loves soccer and mysteries!
Aiden, Ava and Daniel found out that a trophy went missing 40 years ago but now they must find the missing trophy and whatever happened to. What was the criminals motive, and since this was 40 years ago there isn't much to go off of. But lucky them that they have to deal with soccer practices and games. Why do couple of teenagers think they can figure out where the trophy has gone when the police department and decteives have searched looking for that trophy. Who stole the trophy. As suspision rises it can be anyone. What will happen read the book to find out !!!
Have you ever tried to find a stolen trophy while trying to win a place on one? Twins Aiden and Ava and their friend Daniel all love to play soccer and they also love mysteries and adventures. As they all compete for the top spot in their soccer leagues to win the coveted spot on the trophy in the library, the friends also try to solve an old town mystery in which the original soccer trophy was stolen from the library 40 years ago. The friends wonder if it's even worth digging up this old mystery, but are intrigued to find out why anyone would want to steal a kids soccer trophy! Tensions rise with the case as they talk to old coaches and town figures who seem suspiciously unhappy with the kids looking for the trophy. Pressure also intensifies on the soccer field as the game that will decide who is at the top of the league is coming up! With an unexpected twist at the end of the story, the friends will have to go above and beyond on the field and with the mystery to uncover the truth of the missing soccer trophy. I really enjoyed reading this book because as a soccer player myself, the action-packed soccer game scenes in the book were super entertaining and I could picture it just as if I was playing soccer with them! I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys soccer and a good mystery!
What do the World Cup Trophy and the Winchester U-14 Championship Soccer League Trophy have in common? These trophies are both replicas! The original trophies were stolen and later replaced. Whatever happened to the original World Cup Trophy? What happened to the Winchester’s Soccer Trophy? Well with a little bit of history and some good sleuth work, three thirteen-year-old awesome soccer players use their wit and connections to the community librarians, former police chief, and former soccer coaches to unravel the mystery. Twins, Ava and Aiden, along with their friend Daniel all play on the U-14 girls or boys soccer team. They have to balance their desire to solve the mystery surrounding the 40 year old missing trophy, their practices and games during the championship along with their schoolwork. With each game win, the trio is fueled even more to figure out if the trophy thief was a friend or foe or a face in the cheering crowd or even a family member? Will the roadblocks of uncooperating coaches and wavering memories fold the three? Well, you will need to read Fred Bowen’s newest book Soccer Trophy Mystery to find out. Filled with tons of soccer jargon and exciting game moments, I recommend this book if you enjoy soccer and mystery. The book is for 7 and up, but will be a quick read for 10-year-old and up. I enjoyed how the book introduces one piece of information at a time so that the reader can formulate her or his opinion.
If you go to school in a public school, they may have a trophy case. This case will likely have trophies from soccer games, football, maybe a few others. But what if someone stole one of the trophies? Teenagers Ava, Daniel, and Aiden have just recently found out that a school soccer trophy went missing from the trophy case in the library 40 years ago. It stumped the police force and even detectives! 40 years later, it still hasn’t been found and the case was put aside. Curious (and trying to escape reading a boring book for English class) the three teenagers head out and start asking questions. Will they find out who stole the trophy? While I’m not too into sports, I do love mysteries and this one did not disappoint! I’d recommend this to someone who loves mysteries.
great!
I really liked this book! I recommend it to people who like fun mysteries!