Mick and the Pridestag: A Christian chapter book about pride, humility and friendship Agent Angels Book 1 Easy to read on your own, ages 7-8 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9783694341925)

Tyler is the best soccer player in the whole school. He'll tell you himself. Eleven times before lunch.

Then a strange little creature struts out from behind the goal: puffy chest, peacock tail, skinny deer legs, nose stuck high in the air. It's a Pridestag, a beast made of bragging, and only Tyler can see it. Every boast makes it grow. POOF. Soon it snores beside his bed like a tuba, and the kitchen smells like old gym socks.

Help shows up sitting on the back fence. Mick is an Agent Angel who loves soccer and tells the worst knock-knock jokes in heaven. He left his wings at home (they break lamps), and he loses a fight with a garden hose in his first five minutes on Earth. Mick can wrestle the beast, but he can't shrink it. Only Tyler can do that, and it starts with the hardest word a third grader knows: sorry.

But Sam won't talk to Tyler anymore. And the Pridestag is learning to talk back.

What kids take away from this book

- Humility: the story is built on Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before a fall." Tyler watches his bragging grow a beast and shrink his friendships, one boast at a time.

- Saying sorry: Mick coaches Tyler through a real apology. No mumbling, no "I guess." Parents will want to borrow this scene.

- True friendship and teamwork: Tyler finds out that passing the ball to Sam feels better than scoring alone, and that kids pick teammates who are fun to play with.

- Lifting others up: Tyler learns to pick the kid who always gets picked last. First.

- Prayer: Mick calls it a quick call home to the King, and He always picks up. Faith here is simple and warm, the way a nervous kid needs it.

Good to know before you buy:

- Ages 6 to 9: read aloud from 6, most kids self-read by 7 or 8

- Short chapters with black-and-white illustrations throughout

- The beast is funny, never scary. It blows raspberries when it loses

- A complete story with a real ending (Book 1 of the Agent Angels series)

- Christian values lived out in the story, not delivered as a lecture

Hand this one to a kid who loves recess soccer. Fair warning: you will be asked to do the Pridestag's tuba snore at bedtime. HOOOONK-shoo.