Messi, Superstar

June 1, 2016

Gr 3-5-A biography of the soccer star Lionel Messi, who has played for teams Barcelona and Argentina. The unfocused narration covers a wide range of soccer facts: the text jumps from biographical information and comparisons to other soccer players, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, to a brief exploration of famous soccer academy uniform shirts. Many quotes praising Messi are from lesser-known individuals such as teammates, managers, and coaches and are randomly inserted among the pages. Comments from an intrusive narrator detract from information that might possibly be useful for a report. For instance, when discussing the routine of players who live at La Masia Youth Academy, where Messi once spent some time, the text ends with "You know all that exciting stuff." Five short quizzes are appended; however, there are no photographs. Rather, the artwork consists of digital cartoonlike illustrations. While picture graphs of goal records are intriguing, some of the remaining illustrations are used as filler and are subsequently pointless. VERDICT Not recommended due to the unorganized and often confusing nature.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.