Cover Image: Cody and the Heart of a Champion

Cody and the Heart of a Champion

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Member Reviews

This is my third Cody book read and it is another super winner! The author captures the thought processes and emotions of the young characters in a genuine way. The story shows the reader what real team spirit is, and touches on how children deal with change and having more than one "best" friend. This book would be both a perfect early reader chapter book and a wonderful chapter, or two, a night family bedtime story. It will spark good conversations about friendship.

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Cody and the Heart of a Champion is the fourth title in this beautifully written series by one of my favorite middle grade authors, Tricia Springstubb. Spring has arrived, and it has brought many changes both big and small to Cody's life. Her brother, Wyatt, is wearing dress shirts daily to impress his girlfriend, while Cody's friend and neighbor, Spencer, is working on a mysterious project under the porch in the wake of the news that his mother will soon have a baby. Meanwhile, Cody tries to ignore the fact that she has outgrown her favorite spring jacket, while her friend Pearl becomes consumed by her newfound interest in playing soccer.

Four books into the series, I am running out of ways to express how wonderful these books are. The first title in the series set the bar very high in 2015 with Cody and the Fountain of Happiness, and each sequel has met that standard. As always, in this newest book (of which I received an ARC from NetGalley) Springstubb gets the little details of childhood just right. In particular, she does a great job with the soccer storyline, in which Pearl and Cody are intimidated by star player Madison who cares more about winning than team-building. I thought it was especially interesting that Cody learns how to be a good sport not from her own bad behavior, but from having to put up with someone else's poor sportmanship. I haven't read many kids' books that model how to handle a bad situation when someone else's negative behavior is the cause.

It is also impressive to me how so many elements of the story relate the to theme of change - including the season in which the book is set! - without the theme feeling like a gimmick. Each piece of the plot informs the others, and it is really Cody's hopeful and cheerful navigation of the difficulties that come up that make the story appealing.

I really look forward to the day my own girls, all currently under five, are old enough to appreciate this series. Until then, I will continue to urge parents of girls (and boys) in the 7- to 10-year-old range to seek out these books for their kids. They are quality stories with great characters and gorgeous writing - you can't go wrong!

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Cody's fourth adventure has her dealing with life's changes. Her friendship with Pearl is changing, especially now that she's playing soccer and "in" with the "in crowd", and she's not sure why her friend Spencer is acting so weird. His mom is having a baby, and he's become more quiet and withdrawn. Cody joins the soccer team, to try and stay close with Pearl, but the resident mean girl doesn't make things easy. She's determined to stay upbeat and try to roll with the changes, but when so much is changing all at once, it's really hard. Readers will understand and empathize with Cody and how hard it is when everything seems to hit at once: friendships shift, seasons change, and families expand. There are black and white illustrations throughout and the upbeat tone of the book should help kids as they deal with their own transitions.

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This is a cute story of friendship and doing what's right. When I finished the book I felt that there was a lot of character and story development that did not happen.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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E ARC from Netgalley.com



Spring is on its way, and Cody is all set to make the season exciting. Warmer days mean her favorite spring jacket, even if it is too small, and flip flops, even though her mother tries to take them away! Her friend Pearl is playing soccer, and wants Cody to play as well. Cody's not thrilled with the idea, although she does want to be close to her friend, especially when she sees Pearl being friends with the other girls. Spencer's mother is expecting, and the family is looking for their own home... but Spencer fails to tell Cody this. Wyatt, her brother, is spending more and more time with his girlfriend, and is changing some things about himself, which Cody doesn't like, even if it IS only wearing collared shirts. Change is always difficult, but Cody has a strong base of support. An awesome new reversible spring jacket helps as well!

Strengths: Springstubb does a fantastic job of identifying things that are difficult for elementary school students, but which adults may have forgotten. Yes, we know that friends moving away if difficult, but it's easy to forget the pain of having to give up that favorite piece of clothing. The accompanying illustrations are charming and make it easy to hand this to children who only want to read graphic novels.
Weaknesses: As Cody gets older, we don't see as much of her family. This is realistic, but I do so enjoy them!

What I really think: A must purchase for elementary schools, and a very successful title for struggling 6th graders at my school. Perfect for those of us who were Carolyn Haywood Betsy fans to give as gifts to young readers.

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