Iván Córdoba

Gr 3–6—These titles highlight three of professional soccer's star players: Iván Córdoba (Colombia) and two Brazilians-Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Only Ronaldinho was still actively playing when the books were written. At times, the names of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho cause some confusion-both have the same given first name, both have used the same nickname, and both have played for the Brazilian national team, sometimes together. Each attractive volume is filled with large, full-color photos, almost all game-action shots. The text has about a three-page description of each player's early life. Only Córdoba includes information about the athlete's current family life. The coverage is largely devoted to World Cup competitions for their home countries and their various European club team seasons in between. Although the interest level begins probably around second grade for avid soccer fans, the reading level is quite a bit higher. Mentioning various scandals, some involving murder and game-fixing, also raises the grade level. And only Córdoba's humanitarian and charitable work is discussed. But avid soccer fans will most likely not care about such omissions. Sometimes the money discussed is given in euros and other times in dollars. There is a bilingual, shorter biography of Ronaldinho (PowerKids, 2008) by José María Obregón and one in English only about Ronaldo (Mitchell Lane, 2007) by Tamra Orr. There are some collective works about multiple soccer stars for kids that might fill the need for most collections. These titles should only be considered for libraries with serious pro soccer fans.—Kate Kohlbeck, Randall School, Waukesha, WI