ReadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2025

SnowPal Soccer

Lisa Maria Burgess author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Catalyst Books

Publishing:26th Mar '26

£14.99

This title is due to be published on 26th March, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

SnowPal Soccer cover

The epic game begins!

That night, as agreed, the two children ask the moon: “Please let our snowpals play soccer.” Then each child adds a secret wish upon the stars: “I wish that my snowpal wins the soccer match!” 

After the storm and after the children build snowmen comes a whimsical tale. In the light of moon and stars, the snowpals come to life to play an epic game of soccer. A story of joy and the delight of play for all children. A primer in sportsmanship in English and French, this analogue book, illustrated with stitch and seam, harkens back to an era before the uniformity of computer generated illustrations.

"With migration, soccer players from across Africa experience (and never quite get used to) snow. This bilingual story will restore humor, fair play, and their beloved football to the long winter months." — I'm Your Neighbor Books 

"Lisa Maria Burgess has created a gentle story of comradery and childlike goodwill. Her verse wraps itself around the reader with the same comforting pleasure found in the applique illustrations." –Leo Daly, author and illustrator, The Giant and the Olive

"A book with a distinctive look – it's all applique fabric – and with a distinctive enough subject matter – a winter solstice night filled with football for two snowmen characters... It's actually about being companionable rather than competitive, and those with Benin heritage will appreciate the creator inserting that half of her family into proceedings." — Theediscerning, Goodreads

ISBN: 9781960803412

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

Bilingual edition