This is another Anthony Browne book that I ended up loving. I think the message of this story is to believe in yourself because most people have everything they need to be successful. People oftentimes fail before they even start because they are not confident in themselves. This is a good book to help develop children's self-esteem and would hopefully push them to try things they normally wouldn't. I'm definitely adding this to my future classroom collection because the message is great and the illustrations are some of my favorite. ( )

Willy loved soccer but he didn't have any boots to play in and when he tried to play with everyone no one would pass him the ball. One night when he was walking home he saw a mysterious man playing with a soccer ball. Willy watched him for a little bit and then the man gave Willy an old pair of boots. The next day when Willy went to play soccer he wore the boots and he played great. So then he thought the boots were magic and they were the reason he was good. One morning Willy woke up late for his game and in the rush to get there forgot his boots. He was devestated, but someone found him some to play in and when he got on the field he was still great and scored the winning goal.
I like the message Browne was trying to get across in this story. It showed that Willy just needed to be confident and believe in himself. All the characters in this story were animals since Browne always incorporates animals somehow. ( )

Browne brings a modern setting and an artist's sensibility to this fable with the classic theme about a magical artifact that, along with plenty of hard work (practice drills), turns the loser into a champion. I wish I'd read the Willy books in order - this one is somewhere in the middle of the series I think. ( )

This short story is about a young boy who wanted to play soccer but did not seem to have the talent like the other players. When he stumbles upon a wizard like creature everything changes for Willy. He ends up making the soccer team and ultimately scores the winning goal at their big game. ( )

How many people think that they are lucky? Willy the Wizard thinks he is one of those people because he has been blessed with boots from a stranger. He felt that the boots brought him the ability to play soccer very well. He thought the boots were magic because he just played fantastically! On the day of the big game, Willy was running late. Naturally, he forgot his boots! Willy was sure he was going to play horribly because he did not have his original boots the stranger had given him. Until he actually started to play. Willy realized that the boots he had were not what made him good at soccer; it was himself. He never once considered that maybe he was just a great soccer player. This book reflects upon confidence. Children should have confidence in themselves because they are capable of so much. It is their actions that count because they are physically doing something; therefore, their actions cannot just be acquired from an object that they feel is magical or lucky. Willy never even considered that he had the capability to be good enough to play soccer, he just automatically assumed the boots gave him "powers" to be great at it. Things happen for a reason. Maybe Willy seeing that stranger that actually gave him the boots was what he needed to get him to actually tryout and play for the soccer team. ( )