Pele, King of Soccer/Pele, El rey del futbol [Hardcover]

Monica Brown (Author), Rudy Gutierrez (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 23, 2008 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Do you know how a poor boy from Brazil who loved fútbol more than anything else became the biggest soccer star the world has ever known? Turn the pages of this book to read the true life story of Pelé, King of Soccer, the first man in the history of the sport to score a thousand goals and become a living legend. Rudy Gutiérrez's dynamic illustrations make award-winning author Monica Brown's story of this remarkable sports hero truly come alive!

¿Sabes cómo un niño brasileño pobre que amaba el fútbol más que nada en el mundo se convirtió en la estrella más importante del deporte? Lee este relato y entérate de la historia de Pelé, El rey del fútbol; el primer hombre en la historia del deporte capaz de marcar mil goles y convertirse en una leyenda viva. Las dinámicas ilustraciones de Rudy Gutiérrez destacan vívidamente los momentos recreados por la escritora premiada Mónica Brown en este extraordinario libro.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Twisting multiple perspectives, adding swirls of color, and limning distorted figures with loose auras of yellow and blue, Gutiérrez creates high-energy, full-bleed illustrations that kick up the unexceptional English-over-Spanish text of this tribute to Pelé, still soccer’s O Rei (The King). “Every evening, no matter how tired they were, Pelé and his father, Dondinho, would play soccer in the streets. Whoops! Sometimes Pelé accidentally broke a window or kicked a ball over a fence.” Brown retraces Pelé’s youth and swift rise to fame, closing with a dramatic account of his 1,000th goal. He went on to score 280 more, and has remained active since his retirement, but readers will find that sort of information only in the fine-print author’s note at the end. Nonetheless, at least visually, this makes a stirring alternative to Lesa Cline-Ransome’s Young Pelé: Soccer’s First Star (2007), illustrated by James Ransome. Grades 1-3. --John Peters

Review

“Gutierrez[’s] high-energy, full-bleed illustrations...kick up...this tribute to Pele, still soccer’s O Rei (The King).” (ALA Booklist )

“Told in a dual English/Spanish text, this inspiring blend of art and story scores a winning goal.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Rayo; Bilingual edition (December 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006122779X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061227790
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( P ) > Pele
  • #18 in Books > Children's Books > Sports & Games > Sports > Soccer
  • #29 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Hispanic & Latino

More About the Author

For more information, visit monicabrown.net

Monica Brown, Ph.D. is the author of award-winning bilingual books for children, including My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/Me llamo Celia: La vida de Celia Cruz (Luna Rising), which was awarded the Américas Award for Children's Literature and a Pura Belpré Honor. Her second picture book, My Name Is Gabriela: The Life of Gabriela Mistral/Me llamo Gabriela: La vida de Gabriela Mistral (Luna Rising) shares the story of the first Latina to win a Nobel Prize. Her other books include Butterflies on Carmen Street (Arté Publico Press), My Name Is Gabito: The Life of Gabriel García Márquez/Me llamo Gabito: La vida de Gabriel García Márquez, a Junior Library Guild Premier Selection and Pura Belpré Honor Book, and Pelé, King of Soccer (HarperCollins Rayo). Her two most recent books are Chavela and the Magic Bubble (Spring 2010) and Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez (Fall 2010), also a Junior Library Guild Premier Selection. Monica's books are inspired by her Peruvian-American heritage and passion to share Latino/a stories with children.

Monica Brown is a Professor of English at Northern Arizona University, specializing in U.S. Latino Literature and Multicultural Literature. She also writes and publishes scholarly work with a Latino focus, including Gang Nation: Delinquent Citizenship in Puerto Rican and Chicano and Chicana Literature; and numerous scholarly articles/ chapters on Latino/a literature and cultural studies. Monica Brown has been a featured author the Kennedy Center Multicultural Book Festival, The Texas Book Festival, The Miami Book Festival and the National and California Associations of Bilingual Educators, among other festivals and conferences.

She is a recipient of the prestigious Rockefeller Fellowship on Chicano Cultural Literacies from the Center for Chicano Studies at the University of California. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Flagstaff, Arizona.