Pelé, the king of soccer

Edson grew up in a slum in São Paulo with nothing but an unnatural gift for soccer, which he was forced to play with a ball made of rags. But to his friends, Edson was known by a different name, Pelé. This graphic biography of the soccer player moves as fast as the icon himself, with little time for the audience to catch its breath. While Simon admittedly skips over large parts of the story, the fast-paced, highlight-filled narrative is ideal for young soccer fans looking for an informative, propulsive read. In spite of his brevity, however, Simon attempts to touch on every aspect of the man's life: from his later humanitarian efforts with UNICEF, to his uglier womanizing side, Simon shows an optimistic but complete picture of the icon. Brascaglia's illustrations help keep the tone light even when characters are arguing, the wide-eyed expressions and bright color scheme seem to lower the stakes. Appealingly energetic, this should have a wide appeal, even beyond soccer fans an easy win.--Blenski, Peter Copyright 2017 Booklist

Pelé, the Brazilian soccer player famous around the world, is an ideal subject for a graphic biography. His career was a dizzying rags-to-riches story. When Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born, his family had just installed their first electric light, and they named him after Thomas Edison (he acquired his nickname later). His father, a soccer player whose climb to fame was ruined by an early injury, nurtured his son's talent. Pelé's rise to fame was meteoric; he played in his first World Cup match at 17 and gave the car he won to his father. More glory as a player awaited, but his life was complicated by political upheaval in Brazil and by personal crises. His greatest pleasure was to slip away and find ordinary children to practice with. Brascaglia crams as much information and drama into his panels as Simon does into the text. An extra dimension is Pelé's status as an athlete of color in a country where whites held power. The story is gripping straight through, and a sterling choice for reluctant readers. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

[DEBUT] American attitudes toward soccer ebb and flow with World Cups and Olympics, as international stars rise and fall and professional teams work their way to visibility and major league status. But football, a truly international sport, has gradually grown in popularity for many decades, and Pelé's story is a microcosm of its travails and triumphs. Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento and raised in the Brazilian slums, Pelé became the first real soccer superstar. Through hard work, family talent, and a sportsman's bravado, he would go on to win three World Cups with Brazil, score more than 1,200 goals, work to bring professional soccer to the United States, and raise the sport's profile by way of his own star status. Here, newcomers Simon and Brascaglia render a loving but astute biography, drawn in an unadorned, manga-influenced style that focuses on the athlete's complex character. Pelé used strategy as well as speed on the field, respected family deeply, but also abused fame to philander and struggled in business and political ventures. Verdict Though its visual simplicity and vocabulary offer a great read for younger audiences, this volume gets into superfan specifics and sports politics, making it more intricate than it first appears.-Emilia Packard, Austin, TX © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Soccer great Pel's story has been told far, wide, and well, but Simon and Brascaglia provide the full contextits cultural, economic, political, and physical geographyit deserves. Pelthere simply isn't a more recognizable word in the world of soccer. His numbers alone are absurd, and his ball handling appeared to be controlled by some anti-gravitational device. Then there's his attitude, his radiant smilein a key early moment, the book shows how his father, an ex-pro, was a major influence on nurturing his natural gifts and teaching him how to find gratitude in his talent. The graphic panels have a range of moods and energy, the gloaming of the barrio of Trs Coraes, Brazil, with its plum reds and burnt browns, contrasting with the great, glittering stadiums. But in these panels, too, will be found the class differences that sunder Brazil, the political chicanery, corruption, and anti-democratic violence, along with the CIA's cooperation therein. Pel, to his abiding credit, disassociated himself from the Brazilian national team as a gesture against the violent junta ruling the country. The book doesn't shy from his few rather unfortunate missteps of his ownpersonal ones as well as distasteful comments about soccer's governing body and the building of the stadium in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup. This particularly smart delineation of Pel has it all: his career, his blunders, decency, and goodness. And his gift. (Graphic biography. 8-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.