Mary Quattlebaum (Children's Literature)
The fur can fly when best friends become sports rivals. Laura Malone Elliott gives young readers a peek at the changing dynamics in Hunter and Stripe and the Soccer Showdown. From helping one another learn to read and wearing identical Halloween costumes, two boy raccoons end up not speaking when they play on different soccer teams. But at the big game when their fathers (the volunteer coaches) launch into a high-pitched argument over a close call, Hunter and Stripe start to giggle and soon it feels “great to be sharing a joke again.” The two young buddies are able to make up their differences, play their best, and deal gracefully with winning and losing. Elliott handles this fraught topic with humor and a clear sense of how kids can grow and mature emotionally by learning to be good sports. This book is a winner, especially with illustrator Lynn Munsinger’s energetic raccoons kicking, dribbling and racing across the pages. 2005, HarperCollins, $15.99. Ages 4 to 7.

Judy Silverman (Children's Literature)
Here is a charming story about two best friends who are soccer fanatics. They are so real, practicing various moves and encouraging each other, that you almost do not notice that they happen to be badgers. Hunter and Stripe have always done everything together until they get assigned to separate soccer teams. Both teams are undefeated, and so finally they must play each other. The winning team will be CHAMPION. Obviously, one team must win, but whose? “Don’t worry,” Hunter’s big sister, Glenna, tells him, “it doesn’t matter in the end.” What on earth does she mean? Of course it matters. It matters even more when friendly rivalry becomes bitter and the boys stop speaking. On the day of the big game, the situation comes to a head. Both fathers are their teams’ coaches, and a disagreement over a ref’s call nearly turns into a nasty confrontation. The boys look at each other, look at their fathers, look back at each other and begin to laugh. Glenna was right after all--it really does not matter. Highly recommended. 2005, Katherine Tegen Books/Harper Collins, $15.99. Ages 5 to 7.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 13))
Winning isn't everything," coach Vince Lombardi famously said, "it's the only thing." Or is it? Elliott's story appreciates that "how you play the game" provides the crucial balance, not to mention the art and sustenance of the athlete, when one team necessarily has to lose. Raccoon mates Hunter and Stripe are back, and this time they find themselves on opposing sides in a game between their unbeaten teams. The competitive drive rears its head and they have a minor falling out. Hunter's sister provides some insight: "Sports should celebrate the amazing things we can do-no matter who wins." Hunter is mystified-it's a big step to take-but he takes it, along with Stripe, when they witness their fathers, as coaches of their respective teams, being over-competitive goofballs. Elliott neatly separates pleasure from instinct, while Munsinger's stumpy, zealous characters add the right degree of empathy and laughs. 2005, HarperCollins, 32p, $15.99. Category: Picture book. Ages 4 to 7. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2006)
This second installment in the series finds best pals Hunter and Stripe on different soccer teams--which isn't a problem until the Comets and Sharks go head-to-head for the league championship. The "sports-should-be-fun" message is delivered ham-handedly by Hunter's big sister. Still, early elementary audiences will relate to the raccoon characters clad in cleats and jerseys. Category: Picture Books. 2005, HarperCollins/Tegen, 32pp, 15.99, 16.89. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.

Traci Humphrey (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 18, No. 4))
HUNTER AND STRIPE AND THE SOCCER SHOWDOWN is a book about friendship. Hunter and Stripe do everything together, but they are placed on separate soccer teams. Their friendship is tried when they compete against each other in the championship game. They both learn a lesson about friendship, and they continue to be friends even in the end. Fiction. Grades K-3. 2005, Katherine Tegen Books, Unpaged., $16.89. Ages 5 to 9.