ALA Booklist (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

As in Beans Baker, Number Five (2001), both the team sport and the players drive the story. This time the game is soccer. Beans and his best friend, Chester, can't wait for the championship game as they are both in the starting lineup. At the final practice, however, Chester accidentally kicks Beans, and Beans ends up with his foot in a cast. The kids taunt Chester, and he hides, too miserable to play til Beans finds him and brings him on the field, where Chester scores the winning goal. The colorful animated drawings, with Beans on crutches, show both the exciting game and the friendship guilt, hurt, and fun. A lively addition to the Step into Reading series, this book isn't only for sports fans.

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

After their mid-practice collision leaves Beans in a leg cast (and on the sidelines for the soccer championship), best pal and teammate Chester doesn't know how to make it up to his injured friend. The story is a tad thin, but it's mildly amusing and appropriate for newly independent readers. Cartoonlike illustrations show kids sporting pointy-toed cleats and brick-red jerseys.

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3-Thanks to great teamwork, Beans and his friend Chester have led the Wildcats to the soccer championship play-off. But during practice, the boys collide, and Beans is left with a broken foot. Chester feels terrible, and the other players make him feel worse. He hides during the big game, but the coach has an idea that may bring the boy back to play, and Beans knows where to find his friend. This simply written book introduces several weighty themes: blame, guilt and forgiveness, friendship, and teamwork. The winning pass is made by a girl (one of several on the team), which broadens the appeal of the story. Cartoon illustrations add a little humor. The story is straightforward and will satisfy students who are beginning to read independently. There is enough substance for a first book report or a discussion of the social themes that are introduced.-Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.