Hubert &The Magic Glasses Candice Lemon-Scott
Illustrated by Joe Spellman
Hubert and The Magic Glasses
LITTLE ROCKETS SERIES:
A new, fast-paced junior fiction series designed especially for 7+ readers. Each gripping tale will keep children hooked and entice them to begin reading independently. Children will be enthralled by the captivating characters. Look out for further titles in the series, coming this year. www.littlerockets.com.au
Hubert and The Magic Glasses
Candice Lemon-Scott Illustrated by Joe Spellman
First published in Australia 2012 by New Frontier Publishing Pty Ltd ABN 67 126 171 757 Suite 3, Level 2, 18 Aquatic Drive, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 Australia www.newfrontier.com.au Text copyright Š 2012 Candice Lemon-Scott Illustrations copyright Š 2012 Joe Spellman This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to the publishers. All rights reserved. The Cataloguing-in-Publication entry for your forthcoming publication is as follows: National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Lemon-Scott, Candice Title: Hubert and The Magic Glasses / Candice Lemon-Scott; Joe Spellman. ISBN: 9781921928246 (pbk.) Target Audience: For primary school age. Dewey Number: A823.4 Other Authors/Contributors: Spellman, Joe. Designed by Celeste Vlok Printed in China
For my daughters, Krystalin and Aliena - Candice Lemon-Scott For my wife, Ann, and one of our many pets, Cheyenne - Joe Spellman
1 Hubert sat on the bench in the change rooms and slowly put on his T-shirt and soccer boots. He was so nervous he could barely tie his laces. He was goalkeeper for Goodview’s Under 12s Able Ants soccer team; and he was hopeless. They were about to play the Wandering Wombats, the worst team in the region. But that just made Hubert feel even worse. If he couldn’t keep the ball out of the goal with that team playing, the Ants had no chance 8
of making it through to the next round. He had just finished tying the laces on his boots when Coach walked in. ‘Nearly ready, Hubert? Everyone else is already on the field warming up.’ ‘Yes, Coach.’ ‘Great. All you have to remember today is to keep your eye on the ball.’ ‘Sure, Coach,’ Hubert gulped. ‘That’s the way,’Coach said encouragingly.
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After a pre-match talk from Coach, the Ants ran onto the field to start play. Hubert’s knees shook like a couple of lolly wrappers blowing in the wind. He could see his mum, dad and little sister, Caitlyn, sitting in the crowd, waving and grinning. What hope do we have of winning with a name like Able Ants? thought Hubert. Talk about being at the bottom of the food chain. They were about to be squashed into oblivion with him as goalie. Hubert was taking his place on the field when his best friend, James, came over. ‘We’ll beat them easy today. Those Wombats are dead meat,’ James said, clapping his hands together, so close to Hubert’s nose that he nearly snapped it off. 10