Spring 2026

The World Game

Soccer Circles the Globe

  • Interest Level: Kindergarten - Grade 4
  • Reading Level: Grade 2

Thwaack! Whummpp! Klangg!

From a park in the United States to a pitch in India, from the seaside in Nigeria to a stadium in Uruguay, there’s one game that brings the world together. Whether you call it football, soccer, or any other name, it’s the most popular sport on the planet.

Follow a fast-paced soccer game around the globe, moving to a new location with each turn of the page. The game includes early morning in Chicago, USA; a nighttime matchup in Shenzhen, China; an early evening game in Kochi, India; and a midafternoon match in Lagos, Nigeria. Journey through time zones and around the globe as kids everywhere use their feet to dribble, shoot, and score all the way through to the final goooooooooal!

Author John Coy and illustrator Phùng Nguyên Quang collaborated across an ocean (and multiple time zones!) to create this action-packed celebration of the power of sport to unite people worldwide!

Format Your Price Add
979-8-7656-6798-9
On pre-order until 05/05/2026
$18.99
979-8-7656-9163-2
On pre-order until 05/05/2026
$23.99
Available at all major wholesalers and distributors. Save 25% off list price on library bound hardcovers and all eBook and eBook with Audio editions when you buy direct! Digital purchases will be accessed on Lerner Digital Bookshelf. An account will be created for you after purchase.
Interest Level Kindergarten - Grade 4
Reading Level Grade 2
Genre Picture Books
Category Sports
Copyright 2026
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Carolrhoda Books ®
Language English
Number of Pages 32
Publication Date 2026-05-05
Text Type Fiction
BISACS JUV032150, JUV074000
Dewey 796.334
Dimensions 9.25 x 11
Guided Reading Level TBD
Features Author/Illustrator biography and Original artwork

Author: John Coy

John Coy is the author of young adult novels, the 4 for 4 middle-grade series, and nonfiction and fiction picture books including Hoop Genius, Game Changer, Their Great Gift, Dads, If We Were Gone, and Where We Come From. He has received numerous awards for his work including a Marion Vannett Ridgway Award, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor, a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year, and the Burr/Warzalla Award for Distinguished Achievement in Children’s Literature. John lives by the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

Illustrator: Phùng Nguyên Quang

Phùng Nguyên Quang is a children book author and illustrator based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. His work is inspired by the cultural and traditional of Vietnam and South Asia.