All five books in the bestselling The Wild Soccer Bunch series are now available together for the first time! Included are Book 1 - Kevin the Star Striker, Book 2 - Diego the Tornado, Book 3 - Zoe the Fearless, Book 4 - Julian the Mighty, and Book 5 - Max the Golden Boot. Book 1 - Kevin the Star Striker: Kevin and his friends challenge the Unbeatables in the biggest game of their lives. Book 2 - Diego the Tornado: Diego turns the Wild Soccer Bunch into a club team and challenges the Furies the best team in the state to a game! Book 3 - Zoe the Fearless: Zoe wants to be the first girl to ever play on the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team! But first she challenges the Wild Soccer Bunch. Book 4 - Julian the Mighty: Julian, the all-in-one defender, is looking for his dad who left home years ago. What happens next tests Julian's character and the resolve and friendship of the Wild Soccer Bunch. Book 5 - Max the Golden Boot: Max, an amazing striker is the new player on the team. A power struggle ensues and threatens to break up and destroy the Wild Soccer Bunch, who are on the top of their game.

Fabio, the son of a famous Brazilian soccer player, wants to join the Wild Soccer Bunch. But Fabio's father has other plans. He makes his son play for the Furies, one of the best youth club teams in the country. The Wild Soccer Bunch is devastated, but Diego has a different plan. He turns the Wild Soccer Bunch into a club team and challenges the Furies to a game! Can the wild Soccer Bunch survive the game? Can their friendship endure the test?

The championship game pits Max the Golden Boot and his team against the Wild Soccer Bunch. Max is so hooked by their attacking game that he dreams of being one of them. Although he is an amazing player, Danny and Kevin don't want him on the team. A power struggle ensues and threatens to break up and destroy the Wild Soccer Bunch, who are on the top of their game.

Kevin and his Wild Bunch teammates challenge Mickey and his gang to a soccer game, and know they must win or else they will lose rights to their field.

When the last of the snow has finally melted, soccer season starts! Kevin the Star Striker and The Wild Bunch rush to their field. They have found that Mickey the bulldozer and his gang, the Unbeatables, have taken over. Kevin and his friends challenge the Unbeatables to the biggest game of their lives. Can the Wild Bunch defeat the Unbeatables, or lose their field of dreams forever? Can they do what no team has done before?

This book tells the story of German-language literature on film, beginning with pioneering motion picture adaptations of Faust in 1897 and early debates focused on high art as mass culture. It explores, analyzes and contextualizes the so-called 'golden age' of silent cinema in the 1920s, the impact of sound on adaptation practices, the abuse of literary heritage by Nazi filmmakers, and traces the role of German-language literature in exile and postwar films, across ideological boundaries in divided Germany, in New German Cinema, and in remakes and movies for cinema as well as television and streaming services in the 21st century. Having provided the narrative core to thousands of films since the late 19th century, many of German cinema's most influential masterpieces were inspired by canonical texts, popular plays, and even children's literature. Not being restricted to German adaptations, however, this book also traces the role of literature originally written in German in international film productions, which sheds light on the interrelation between cinema and key historical events. It outlines how processes of adaptation are shaped by global catastrophes and the emergence of nations, by materialist conditions, liberal economies and capitalist imperatives, political agendas, the mobility of individuals, and sometimes by the desire to create reflective surfaces and, perhaps, even art. Commercial cinema's adaptation practices have foregrounded economic interest, but numerous filmmakers throughout cinema history have turned to German-language literature not simply to entertain, but as a creative contribution to the public sphere, marking adaptation practice, at least potentially, as a form of active citizenship.

The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays. "The elegance of Patchett’s prose is seductive and inviting: with Patchett as a guide, readers will really get to grips with the power of struggles, failures, and triumphs alike." —Publisher's Weekly “Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart. At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a surprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores “what it means to be seen, to find someone with whom you can be your best and most complete self.” When Patchett chose an early galley of actor and producer Tom Hanks’ short story collection to read one night before bed, she had no idea that this single choice would be life changing. It would introduce her to a remarkable woman—Tom’s brilliant assistant Sooki—with whom she would form a profound bond that held monumental consequences for them both. A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer’s eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be. From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo’s children’s books (author of The Beatryce Prophecy) to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz’s Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author’s grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in These Precious Days resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark—and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time.