Article Title
Keywords
Dependable, Intermediate, Young Adult, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Dico, Pelé, soccer, Brazil, World Cup, Graphic Novel, biography
Document Type
Book Review
Abstract
The famous soccer player, nicknamed Pelé, is born October 23, 1940, the very day his family gets electricity in their home near Sao Paulo, Brazil. Pelé’s father had been a pro soccer player before a knee injury ended his career, and he drills his son daily in soccer techniques. Pelé’s first soccer ball is one fashioned from rags bundled tightly together to form a ball. He practices soccer for hours every day, and by the time he is fifteen, he is given his first professional contract. Soccer becomes his escape from the slums. He travels the world playing soccer and wins three world cup medals. He is considered to be the greatest soccer player in the world as he scores over 1279 goals in 1363 games spanning twenty-two years. He becomes a great humanitarian, a Good Will Ambassador for UNICEF, and a man who loves working with youth. He calls soccer ‘the beautiful game’ because it brings people of all colors, nationalities and languages together.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Frazier, Cynthia
(2018)
"Pelé: The King of Soccer,"
Children's Book and Media Review: Vol. 39:
Iss.
3, Article 61.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cbmr/vol39/iss3/61