Players

Gr 4–8—These informative titles help set the stage for this summer's upcoming World Cup competition. Teams begins with a succinct explanation of qualities that distinguish sucessful World Cup teams: quality of play, dominance, and leadership of key players. Ten teams are then introduced, starting with Hungary 1954 and ending with the most recent winning team, Spain, in 2010. For each team, the book recounts their World Cup record, key players, and season highlights. Though they were runners-up in 1974, the Netherlands team is included for their innovative "total soccer" style of play. Players focuses on 10 players, including Bobby Moore, Pelé, and Diego Maradona. The books follows a roughly chronological order and end with mention of three "stars of the future," including Brazil's Neymar and Colombia's Radamel Falcao. The overall design, with its use of fact boxes highlighting key information and exciting photos, makes these titles highly readable.