Miss Charlotte – the new coach of a children’s football team – has some odd methods to prepare them for the big match, including talking to the ball and drinking a special potion, smalalamiam. Also, she teaches them how to lose! And to have fun. Incredibly, it seems to work – but will their hopes of victory be dashed when their star player decides to join the other team?

The latest instalment in Dominique Demers’s popular Adventures of Miss Charlotte series, The New Football Coach, brilliantly illustrated by Tony Ross, is a marvellous tale about believing in yourself and beating the odds.