Shares Edson do Nascimento's soccer filled childhood, from age 8 to about 12. Talks about how he took on the nickname Pele, was consumed with soccer, and how his first soccer team played without shoes. Author's note fills in the remaining details. Oil paint illustrations are wonderfully done, giving readers a glimpse into what Pele's hometown may have looked like. ( )

This book portrays Pele, the greatest soccer player to ever live, as a child. It shows the challenges he had to overcome to simply play the game he loved, and i believe that this book can teach some great life lessons about following your dreams, despite it not being completely true about his life. I recommend this book to any child who has a dream, but feels like they do not have the sources necessary to go after those dreams ( )

Edson Arantes do Nacismento was born to poor parents in a small town in Brazil. Every since he was very young he dreamed of being a soccer star. His was a also quite a good soccer player, but his career was derailed by injury. Edson formed a neighborhood soccer team with his friends but they were too poor for cleats or uniforms They became know as the "Shoeless Ones". Nevertheless they played very well together as a team and Edson was brilliant as always. His teammates gave him the nickname "Pele". A local businessman sees their talent and offers to buy them shoes and become their coach. The mayor of the town puts on a tournament the teams ends up winning. Pele scores the winning goal in front of five thousands fans. His mother, who had always been against him playing soccer, hugs him and offers her congratulations.
The story does a good job chronicling the life of young Pele. The illustrations are well done, but they do not accurately depict what a small town in Brazil would have looked like the the 1940's and 50's. It seems like the illustrator "americanized" them and didn't portray the true poverty that Pele was raised in. ( )

The biggest name in Soccer: Pele. He took Brazil to the World Cup and won three times. His name is full of fame and greatness... But it wasn't always like that.
In this beautifully illustrated book We see Edson Arantes do Nascimento, a young boy from a poor family. He plays soccer barefoot and wins his nickname Pele by a crowd chanting amazed by his skills. ( )

Pele who real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born and raised in Bauru, Brazil. He was a young boy who loved the game of soccer. He and a few friend from his neighborhood put together a team and they practiced and played together. These young boys weren’t fortunate enough to afford shoes, a real team uniform or real ball. They decided to work together to raise the money for the uniforms but not enough for the shoes. They were able to get someone to help them get shoes when they heard about the local tournament the mayor was having for soccer groups. Pele became very popular after that and succeeded in his career as a soccer player. ( )