  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 04/01/2014 Gr 1–3—Paulo Marcelo Feliciano (aka Felino) dreams of rescuing his mother from long hours at work by achieving glory on the soccer field. As the story opens, the boy and his sister, Maria, set out for the day, bringing with them a bag of their mother's delicious cheese buns. Along the way, they dribble and kick the soccer ball. Maria longs to play in a game with her brother, but the "team's rule is no girls." Leaving Maria at school, Felino heads for the shore, where his boss waits by his fishing boat. Growing up impoverished in Brazil, Felino and his friends all work to help their families. Over the course of the day, Felino encounters Carlos, Jose, Givo, and Pedro, sharing his cheese buns with his teammates. He spends a long day on the water but finally returns to the beach, and the game begins. When Jose, the goalie, injures his wrist, Givo takes his place at the net, and the team calls Maria from the sidelines, refusing to let a "useless old rule" stand in the way of victory. Alarcão's luminous digitally colored sepia-ink illustrations elegantly portray the setting. The joyful expressions of the players as they dribble, knee, and bicycle kick the ball around the sandy soccer field reinforce the story's positive and inspiring tone. Readers who love the game will cheer on Felino and his team of hopeful soccer stars.—Linda L. Walkins, Saint Joseph Preparatory High School, Boston, MA - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 05/01/2014 Aspiring soccer champion Paulo Marcelo Feliciano presents himself prior to the title page, declaring, Soon I will shine like a star. . . . like Garrincha, Pelé, and Ronaldo, / who have all played in these alleys. Paulo introduces his teammates as they toil in various settings. At the end of their workday, the team gathers for a pickup soccer game where Paulo’s sister, the only one who attends school, scores the winning goal with a dramatic bicycle kick. Paulo’s enthusiasm for soccer is infectious, but the story also reveals Brazilian poverty, in which boys must work rather than attend school. Alarcão, himself from Brazil, provides scenes of modest homes stacked on a hillside, narrow passageways, and children at work more than at play. Still, the energetic art, rendered in sepia ink with digital coloration, also reflects Paulo’s passion and exuberance, and views of fishing boats in the ocean and the hillside homes at twilight are especially dramatic. With the 2016 Olympics coming to Brazil, this is a timely story, but Paulo’s dream will resonate with soccer fans long before and after that event. - Copyright 2014 Booklist. Bulletin for the Center... - 06/01/2014 Narrator Paulo Marcelo Feliciano and his Brazilian crew are soccer crazy, but practice has to wait until after the young boys’ work is done for the day. Paulo spends his days helping on a fishing boat, while his friends help support their families by shining shoes, diving to amuse tourists, painting carnival floats, harvesting coconuts. At night, though, it’s soccer on the beach, and a collective dream to advance to the pros. Javaherbin’s opening note states, “My story is an homage to all soccer stars who have risen and continue to rise up from poverty,” and although fictional Paulo’s tale is certainly purposive, it’s not heavy-handed. Indeed, if this portrayal of his experience is to be faulted, it’s for the softened details of poverty in which the children arrive clean and healthy and energetic at their soccer match after smiling through their long day’s work. Picture-book brevity also does not accommodate development of a subplot involving Paulo’s sister’s aspiration to play along with the boys. Despite these cavils, though, Javaherbin and Alarcao offer young soccer fans a thoughtful and engaging look at a lively team of dreamers. EB - Copyright 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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