Book Club: Bobby Bains Plays A Blinder

Bobby Bains Plays A Blinder is our Blue Peter Book Club book for July 2026. A young Sikh footballer reaches out across the generational divide to help a lonely old man in an uplifting story from acclaimed author Bali Rai.

Have you been following the World Cup and are itching for more football fun? Pick up our latest Blue Peter Book Club book and get stuck into a heart-warming story of how football can bring generations together!

Shini met with a few BP fans at their local pitch to find out what they thought of the book! 

"I really enjoyed the book because it shows that we can all come together as a community."

"I thought it was really interesting that anyone can play football, no matter what age they are." 

"You don't have to be a football fan, because it's all about being kind to each other."

Does that sound like your kind of story? Then make sure you pick up this book and get inspired to spread a little kindness in your community!

If you love football, you'll love this book. It's about a boy who loves football and wants to help his community.

Ever wondered how football, friendship, and kindness can help bring people together? Well, that's what this month's book club book is all about. It's Bobby Bains Plays A Blinder.

Bobby Bains is football mad! He also loves helping people. As a Sikh, it's an important part of his faith. When Bobby meets lonely old Trevor at the food bank, he has a genius idea that Trevor needs a friend and Bobby's granddad needs one too.

They both love football, they both love reggae, and they've both got seriously dodgy knees. So Bobby hatches a plan to get them out of the house and back on the pitch. Because in football and in life, if you don't shoot, you don't score.

Bobby Bains Plays A Blinder covers a lot of themes and explores the use of metaphors in the story.

Throughout the story, Bobby is guided by kindness, his grandfather's advice, and the teachings of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. In the story, Bobby finds a famous quote by Guru Nanak, but he is confused by the quote's meaning, so his Granddad, Nana-ji, explains that it is a metaphor.

A metaphor is a word or phrase used to describe something as if it were something else.

You can discover more about the themes, metaphors and writing style of the book with BBC Bitesize.

The excitement doesn't stop with The Cosmic Diary of a Future Space Explorer, keep watching Blue Peter to join the Book Club as we'll also be reading lots more incredible books ranging from nature poetry to fantastic fiction!

You can look forward to:

There's lots more amazing books coming through 2026 and into 2027! Check out a sneak peak of the collection here, and make sure to head to your local library to have a read!

If you love reading, the Blue Peter Book Club is the place for you!

Hang out with other book fans and discuss your favourite stories. Share your thoughts on the latest Book Club book, and maybe even your Blue Peter Book badge, too!

Find out how you can apply for the Blue Peter Book Club badge here.

Did a story make you laugh out loud, whisk you away on a thrilling journey, or introduce you to unforgettable characters? By sharing your book reviews you could earn this book-tastic badge.🤩 

Watch Blue Peter on CBBC or catch all episodes on BBC iPlayer!

And remember, you can play games and quizzes, enter our competitions, get creative with recipes and crafts, and chat to other BP fans over on the Blue Peter page! 💙