Jack loves when his dad tells him the bedtime story about Leo and the royal soccer match. In it, Leo’s mean brothers never let him play soccer, but instead make him do all the chores. When an invitation to the Royal Soccer Match arrives, he knows he won’t finish his tasks in time to attend—until the Hairy Squadfather arrives to magically transform him.
At the match, Leo, on Prince Ollie’s mixed-gender team, scores the winning goal—but he exits the pitch before the magic wears off, and leaves a silver cleat behind. Prince Ollie searches high and low for his team’s star, until he finds Leo, whose foot fits the cleat.
That’s Jack’s favorite part of the story—and his dads, King Leo and King Ollie, agree! Without that missing cleat, they never would have found each other and become a family. A final scene shows the three of them playing soccer outside their castle.
This isn’t the first queer picture book take on Cinderella (see some below, among others), but it’s a fun new twist on the tale, told from a perspective we haven’t seen before, and giving us a glimpse of the royal couple’s family life years after the more famous events. I also appreciate that the villains here are not the traditional step-relatives, but simply siblings. (Not that being bullied by siblings is any better than by step-siblings, but it’s best not to always make step-siblings the bad ones; many families include loving and loved step-relatives.) All told, this is a recommended book and bound to be a storytime winner.
Jack has pale skin and blond hair; Leo has pale skin and reddish hair; Ollie has tan skin and light brown hair.
