Walcott-written books to be published next year

Published Dec. 10, 2009 3:43 p.m. ET

foxsports

England winger Theo Walcott has relived his experiences as an up-and-coming player by writing a series of children's books that are set to be published next year.

The books follow the story of a boy called TJ - the Arsenal forward's nickname as a child - who falls in with a crowd of football-mad children at school.

The 20-year-old Walcott said Thursday that he was excited to work on this series because "books played an important part in our family life as I was growing up."

Philippa Dickinson, who works for publishers Random House, said "we are thrilled to be publishing his books."