With the World Cup underway, it’s time to embrace all things soccer. The publishing world certainly has. This season there are new books about all aspects of the game, for both children and adults.
One of my favorite discoveries has been “Relegated: One American's Pints-and-Pies Journey from the Top to the Bottom of English Football” by Todd Smith. Part travelogue through the United Kingdom, part memoir of perseverance, part celebration of English football fandom, this book will speak to current and former soccer players, fans of any sport, and those in pursuit of a dream.
Fans of Ted Lasso will know that promotion and relegation is part of the British football system of moving teams up or down divisions based on that season’s performance. Smith saw parallels to his own life as he pursued his dream of becoming a writer. After working two decades in blue collar jobs while having a few breakthroughs in his publishing life, he felt he’d never really made it as a writer. So he went on a journey, traveling around the U.K., visiting off-the-beaten path football teams, watching games with their fans and getting to know the culture that surrounds the sport.
The result is a warm and inspiring adventure of discovery that will speak to anyone who has felt knocked down by life and had to get back up. The joy is in the people Smith meets and the growth he experiences writing “Relegated.”
Readers can celebrate the World Cup more specifically with “We Are the World (Cup): A Personal History of the World's Greatest Sporting Event” by Roger Bennett. Bennett is the founder and CEO of the Men in Blazers Media Network, which is the single biggest dedicated soccer platform in the United States. His new book joyously relives each of the World Cups he’s experienced from 1978 to 2022.
Kids can get in the spirit with the middle grade series “The Academy” by T.Z. Layton, about a 12-year-old boy who dreams of playing professional soccer when he gets tapped by a professional scout to start down that path by attending the Academy. But first he has to make it through tryouts. Younger kids might take inspiration from the picture book “Christian’s Soccer Superpowers” by U.S. Men's Soccer's Captain America, Christian Pulisic, illustrated by Marta Kissi. It tells a story of focus, determination, and confidence.
For more direct World Cup inspiration, try “Lionel Messi’s World Cup Triumph,” a nonfiction graphic novel that relives Argentina’s 2022 World Cup win over France, or become an expert with the “FIFA World Cup 2026 Kids’ Handbook,” which has team stats, player profiles, activities like quizzes and word searches, and a bracket to fill in as the tournament progresses.
Go Team USA!
I’ll be talking with Todd Smith for an event in the Book Shop of Beverly Farms on Wednesday, June 17 at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. For more information and to let us know you’re coming, visit bookshopofbeverlyfarms.com/events.
Hannah Harlow is owner of The Book Shop, an independent bookstore in Beverly Farms. Harlow writes biweekly recommendations for us. See more of what she recommends reading at thecricket.com.
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