Ages: 8-13 Book & Ebook
Elves Can’t Kick
Book 3 in the Elves Series
By Robert Skead
Synopsis
When U.S. cooking and craft queen Bertha Hayworth steals Mrs. Claus’s famous baking recipes, it’s up to Sebastian the elf and the gang to get them back. In this sequel to the cliffhanger Elves Can’t Tackle, Sebastian and his friends Holly the elf and Ralphy the polar bear find themselves in New York City on the soccer field. In the true spirit of giving, they try to help a team experiencing a losing streak discover how to win, while helping the team’s owner, Bertha Hayworth, learn that stealing is wrong.
Sebastian's
Bad Guy Girl Profile
Bertha Hayworth, aka “Big Bertha”
Occupation: America’s Cooking & Craft Queen, TV Show Host, Media Mogul—she even has a magazine that bears her name. Owner of the New York Blenders professional soccer team.
Likes: Cooking. Baking. Making things. Home décor. Bossing everyone around. Sewing. Gadgets with her logo on them. Soccer. Picture Frames. Discovering secrets.
Dislikes: Mrs. Claus (now how on earth could anyone not like Mrs. C?!) Playing fair—I’ll show her that you don’t mess with elves—we love fairness!
Good qualities: Hmmm… I’m thinking hard… Ok… she’s amazing at soccer.
The Story Behind the Story
The idea for Elves Can’t Kick was born when I became friends with two MLS goalkeepers—Tim Howard (who now plays for Everton in the Premiere League) and Paul Grafer (now a soccer coach for Chivas). Both men played for the New York MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls) when I served as the chaplain for the team. I included my friends’ names in the story with a goalkeeper named Paul Howard.
The fictional character does many off-the-wall things, like constantly banging his head into the goalpost when making saves. And he really wants to be a chef instead of a goalie (a trait inspired by Grafer who loves to cook). The goalie also falls in love with the bad girl in the story – the mean-spirited cooking and craft business queen, Bertha Hayworth.