The Jersey

Matas 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 Matas 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 Matas he plays every chance he gets. Also like Matas, Brayan idolizes his favorite player on the Bara 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 Atitln. 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.