The perfect middle grade book for readers during The World Cup

Podcast: Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators · Jeff Utecht & Tricia Friedman

Opublikowano: 2026-07-13

Award-winning author Christina Diaz Gonzalez joins Tricia to discuss Offside, her new bilingual middle-grade graphic novel about soccer, friendship, ambition, identity, and finding the courage to use your voice. Although soccer brings the characters together, Offside is also a story about young people learning to form their own opinions rather than simply inheriting the assumptions of the adults around them. Christina explains why she wanted her characters to have real agency, including the ability to challenge gender stereotypes, rethink competition, navigate conflict, and sometimes help their parents see the world differently. The conversation also examines...