Goal!

by Sean Taylor, Caio Vilela (Photographer)

Overview

Soccer—as it is played in different countries around the globe—comes to life in this gorgeously photographed nonfiction picture book, Goal!

Where there's a ball . . . there will always be someone who wants to play soccer. Whether in Tanzania or Togo, Burma or Brazil, children love soccer. GOAL! celebrates the sport's power to bridge cultural divides and bring together the many and diverse people of the world.

Filled with fun facts and striking photos, this book is a poetic snapshot of soccer around the globe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466868694
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	05/06/2014
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	35 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sean Taylor is a graduate of Cambridge University and has worked as a publisher, journalist, and teacher. He has lived in Brazili and Zimbabwe, and now lives in his native England.

Caio Vilela was born in São Paulo a few months before the 1970 FIFA World Cup. A photographer and a journalist, he has traveled on assignment to more than 60 countries around the world and to every continent. Soccer is his lifelong passion.

Editorial Reviews

Taylor's egalitarian message is at its heart about sportsmanship.

The New York Times - Sarah Harrison Smith

Eye-catching photographs and straightforward text introduce soccer and showcase the accessibility and universality of the sport . . . A rousing celebration of global diversity and the game that unites us all.” —School Library Journal

“It's all about the pictures in this photographic global tour of kids playing soccer . . . Great photos, and good stories are all young soccer fans will really need.” —BCCB

“Language and cultural barriers may exist, but soccer - aka football - has become a common denominator among nations around the world. This attractive book sets out to demonstrate how the sport engages kids, rich or poor, with or without shoes.” —Booklist

“Viela's photographs take center stage: They are full of action and neat slices of geography as well, with kids playing beside the megaliths of Stonehenge, stupas in Nepal and a refugee camp in Jordan . . . A solid introduction to soccer, carrying with it the sport's openness to any and all.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

06/01/2014
Gr 1–4—Eye-catching photographs and straightforward text introduce soccer and showcase the accessibility and universality of the sport. The opening endpaper—a close-up image of well-worn soccer balls stowed in a net bag—sets the tone, conveying that this book is about real kids who play a much-loved game. Displayed on handsomely designed spreads, Vilela's vivid images capture the exuberance of young footballers representing an assortment of countries and cultures. For instance, a Brazilian boy performs a perfectly timed header, a smiling youngster dribbles in a field near England's Stonehenge, a teen sporting flip flops juggles a ball in Ghana, and two kids vie for ball possession in the streets of Iran. Photos of Tanzanian children playing with a sphere cleverly fashioned from wire and rags or barefoot youngsters in India kicking a ball in a dusty spot beneath a tree emphasize the fact soccer that can be enjoyed almost anywhere and does not require expensive equipment. Boxed soccer facts about each country are included, and an outline map showing their locations is appended. A rousing celebration of global diversity and the game that unites us all.—Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

2014-04-16
Writer Taylor and photographer Vilela give a brisk nod to the international spirit and enjoyment of soccer.Crisp photos of children playing the game in Spain, Tanzania, Iran, Pakistan and more make it clear that one of the great beauties of soccer is that all players need is a round object of approximately a certain size to play. It can be made of the latest composite material and pumped to a precise psi, or it can be a bunch of rags bound by twine. Little rivals the elemental pleasure of giving a round object a good, sharp kick; just look at the faces of all the kids captured by Vilela: They are, in a word, gleeful. While much of Taylor's text is forgettable—"There's nothing quite like the excitement before you start a game of soccer. Anything can happen!"—it does express the free-spirited, class-transcending joy of the game. The brief text is accompanied by a squib of information from a particular nation set as a boxed item: Togo fielded a 13-year-old in a World Cup qualifier, for instance. Far and away, Vilela's photographs take center stage: They are full of action and neat slices of geography as well, with kids playing beside the megaliths of Stonehenge, stupas in Nepal and a refugee camp in Jordan.A solid introduction to soccer, carrying with it the sport's openness to any and all. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews