Review: Frankie's Magic Football series by Frank Lampard

Those metaphorical high horses were being well and truly ridden recently following the announcement that Canongate will be publishing a series of classic fairy tales for children, reinterpreted by comedian Russell Brand. One article in particular, went as far as to pretty much demand that celebrities stop writing books for children. Said article was co-written by Tom Lamont, writer and commissioning editor for the Observer, and author Robert Muchamore. Mr Muchamore, to his credit, approached the subject in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek manner, adding some much needed humour to the vitriol spouted by Lamont. However, as with many articles such as this, it is the comments section that makes the most interesting reading. Russell Brand is hardly the most popular man in the world so an article like this is always going to attract some rather subjective comments, but what stands out the most is the general poor knowledge of commenters on the the current children's book market.

I toyed with writing a reply to Mr Lamont on this blog, but it was nearing the end of term and things were mad hectic. Then I read a blog post by one the best young bloggers around, who had heard about the article and wanted  to add her opinion. Georgia, the blogger in question, spookily echoed my own thoughts with her piece, but coming from her it sounds all that more relevant and so I urge you to head on over Georgia's blog at  http://booksandwritersjnr.wordpress.com/2014/04/08/celebrities-writing-books/ to read it.

And so we come, once again, to Frank Lampard's Frankie's Magic Football series. The rumours still persist that Mr Lampard has made considerable use of a ghost writer for these books, but whether he has nor not does not really matter in my opinion. I will reiterate what I said when I reviewed the first Frankie's Magic Football book, Frankie vs the Pirate Pillagers:

"I for one have absolutely no problem with Frank Lampard writing a series of books if even just one child picks one up, reads it and then asks his/her parents for more. I would imagine that many parents would agree with me. And that was my opinion before reading it. Now that I've read the first in the series I would suggest that Little, Brown extend the deal to even more books. Frankie vs The Pirate Pillagers is a fun read from beginning to end, and many kids will love it."

I have since read four more in this series, and my opinion remains the same. If Frank Lampard's name (or that of any other celebrity) can manage to get a child reading where parents and teachers are having little success then that can only be a good thing. Sure, these books are not going to end up shortlisted for any of the numerous children's book awards, but neither will the likes of Beast Quest, Cows in Action or the Skylanders books, and these have all helped many kids enjoy reading for the first time.

After beating the Pirate Pillagers, it seems that life will never be the same again for Frankie, Louise, Charlie and dog Max. They quickly discover that the magic football could open a portal at pretty much any time, and even if they aren't all together at the time all four of them will find themselves transported to another period in time. Over the course of the next four books they have to play against the Rowdy Romans, the Cowboy Crew, the Mummy's Menace and the Knight's Nasties. Even though the historical elements are not entirely accurate, there is enough there to get football mad readers asking questions about these periods in time. We should never forget that young minds are inquisitive, all they need is the right material to stimulate that natural curiosity.

Frank Lampard has had is fair share of stick from critics ever since the announcement about this series of books was made. However, this hasn't deterred him from continuing to encourage kids to read for pleasure. Last month he 'kicked off' this year's Premier League Reading Stars Programme, run by the National Literacy Trust. You can read more about the launch here and here.

Frankie and his friends have so far appeared in five books, and it looks as if there are at least two more to come. May will see the timely release of Frankie and the World Cup Carnival, to be followed in August by Frankie and The Dragon Curse.

Review: Frankie's Magic Football - Frankie vs The Pirate Pillagers by Frank Lampard

When Frankie wins a leathery old football from a mysterious stall at the fair, little does he know that he’s been entered into a fantastic fantasy league – leaping from one adventure to the next with his best friends and team mates Charlie, Louise and faithful dog Max. In this first book of the series, all is not as it seems and the odds are stacked against the little gang who must outwit a gang of pirates to win a football match on the high seas and escape home!

When it was first announced that Frank Lampard had secured a deal to write a series of books for the 5+ age group, there were a number of people (disappointingly many of them were authors) who seemed to express nothing but outrage. Some claimed it was patronising to children, and boys in particular, and I remember one person stating that the way to attract readers is through good writing, and that's it. Whilst I would agree that once a child has fallen in love with reading, good quality writing is the way to keep them hooked, I would suggest that books like this are the perfect way to get children (and boys in particular) reading for pleasure in the first place. Just look at the phenomenally popular Beast Quest series - the books won't win any kind of literary prize but I bet there are thousands of children out there who have read them multiple times, and who have subsequently been turned on to a love of books that may last them a lifetime. Author Barry Hutchison wrote a great blog post about this shortly after the announcement was made, and I strongly recommend you popping over his blog to read it here.

I for one have absolutely no problem with Frank Lampard writing a series of books if even just one child picks one up, reads it and then asks his/her parents for more. I would imagine that many parents would agree with me. And that was my opinion before reading it. Now that I've read the first in the series I would suggest that Little, Brown extend the deal to even more books. Frankie vs The Pirate Pillagers is a fun read from beginning to end, and many kids will love it. 

Main character Frankie wins a tatty old football from the local fair, and he and his friends can't resist one quick kick-around at the park on their way home. Before they know it, Frankie, Charlie, Louise and dog max find themselves whisked away to a pirate ship in tropical waters, where they are forced to face a team of pirates in the fantasy league. If they win, Frankie's FC get to play another game, if they lose it's the long walk off a short plank for them all. Built into the story are themes of fair play and friendship, although they are not delivered in a preachy manner. 

This is a great little book for kids who want to move on from large format picture books. A mere 80 pages of largish text, accompanied by Mike Jackson's fun illustrations, make this perfect for boys and girls who are just finding their feet when it comes to reading, and especially those who are football fans. I gave a copy to my nephew for his 5th birthday and I'm expecting to be asked to get him copies of the other books in the series as they are published. Incidentally, his mother (my sister) also agreed completely with me - it doesn't matter who has written a book if it encourages a child to start reading for pleasure.

You can find out more about the books over at http://www.frankiesmagicfootball.co.uk/. The book was published yesterday and the second in the series, Frankie vs the Rowdy Romans, is due out in August. My thanks go to the lovely people at Little, Brown for sending me a copy to read.