Soccer Star
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
“Perhaps most importantly, Javaherbin shows that being poor doesn’t stop people from having lives and dreams. A lovely story about soccer, gender, and hope.” — Kirkus Reviews When Paulo Marcelo Feliciano becomes a soccer star, crowds will cheer his famous name — and his mother won’t have to work long hours. For now, Paulo spends his days working on a fishing boat and taking care of his little sister, Maria: she teaches him reading, and he teaches her soccer moves. At the end of the day he can finally play soccer with his friends. But when a player on Paulo’s team is injured, will they finally change the rules and let a girl show her stuff? Set in a country whose resilient soccer stars are often shaped by poverty, this uplifting tale of transcending the expected scores a big win for all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Javaherbin follows Goal! with another moving story drawn from the world of soccer, this time focusing on a Brazilian boy named Paolo with big dreams for himself and his neighborhood team. Paolo's sense of hope is almost tangible in Alarc o's cinematically lit ink drawings, which show Paolo visiting his friends (like Paolo, they are all working to support their families). During the team's big match, Paolo finally allows his sister to join the team, a decision that's both a small-scale victory and a symbol of promise on a larger scale: "It's up to me, and my vote is for change." Ages 5 8.