The Challenge! Ella McQueen Kickball Queen by Beth Mills

Ella rules the playground.

She's the kickball queen whose kicks cannot be caught--not the Boomer or the Zinger, and definitely NOT the BOMB!

But one day there's a new girl at school who takes to the field and dares to get under one of Ella's kicks and shouts...

"I'VE GOT IT!"

RIYA PATEL, THE NEW GIRL, IS RACING TOWARD THE FALLING BALL!

The booming ball knocks her down, but she holds onto it.

Ella is OUT.

While all the kids crowd around Riya to congratulate her, Ella loses it right there by the plate.

"NOT FAIR!" SHE CRIES.

EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT HER.

And then the recess bell rings. Ella knows she's broken the first rule of sports: Don't Be a Bad Sport.

And the next day, when Riya deftly fields Ella's best bouncer and tags her out, Ella is mad and then sad. But finally... She slowly walks up to Riya.

"GOOD CATCH!" SHE SAYS.

Winning is great, but Ella is lucky to learn those great truths of games and life: You win some and you lose some, and its corollary, "Wait till next time!" Ella gets it that if you choose to play, it's how you face that challenge, how you play the game, that makes sports possible. In Beth Mills' new Ella McKeen, Kickball Queen (CarolRhoda Books, 2019), her all-star girl recognizes that Riya's challenge makes her game better, and Ella is already planning how to sharpen her Zinger for her next time at the plate. Says School Library Journal, "Emotions ring true in this relatable story."