El Jersey, by Jennifer Degenhardt
Matías is a typical 7-year-old boy. He is huge fan of the professional soccer teams in Europe, especially the teams in the Spanish league, La Liga. When Matías is not playing soccer, he is watching soccer videos on the iPad. He always looks the part, too, as he can mostly be found wearing uniforms of players on his favorite team, FC Barcelona. He focus on the ball continues as when he travels to Guatemala with his family on an annual trip where he meets Brayan. Brayan is a 6-year-old Guatemalan boy who also loves soccer. Like Matías he plays every chance he gets. Also like Matías, Brayan idolizes his favorite player on the Barça team, Lionel Messi, #10. He wants nothing more than to wear a jersey with the famous forward’s name and number, but those are difficult to find where he lives on Lake Atitlán.
In this level 1 book, readers will learn about the culture of Guatemala and how a soccer jersey further connects two soccer-obsessed boys from two different countries. Teachers: depending on your students this can be a level 1 or a level 2 book.
