Football Stars

The first thing that must be noted about Football Stars is that Ryan is featuring the stars who are playing in the National Football League, not those of the Canadian Football League. The book falls into two parts, with the first 14 pages being devoted to what Ryan calls “Football Basics”. There, readers will find such core football information as the number of players on a team, the length of a game and the NFL season, the offensive and defensive football positions and the roles played by those occupying the positions, scoring, the field and the ball. (Did you know that the League gives each team 108 game balls per week, 54 for practice and 54 for the game?) While Ryan lists the games seven officials, unfortunately he does not explain their specific roles during a game. This section also includes some trivia, such as the tallest/shortest and heaviest/lightest NFL players ever. In addition to a six question quiz, this section closes with an illustrated six-page American football timeline that runs from 1869 to 2018.

Where most young NFL fans will want to spend their time is in the book’s second and longer section that highlights 22 of the NFL’s “stars”. Perhaps understandably, Ryan’s selections favor the offensive side of the game, with 13 of his stars playing on offense, 8 of them being quarterbacks. The remaining 9 occupy defensive roles, almost half of them defensive ends.
Of the league’s 32 teams, only 19 are represented in Football Stars. Three teams, the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, each have an offensive and defensive player identified.

Each player is presented via a pair of facing pages with one page being a full-colour photo of the star and the other carrying the text. The photos are obscured somewhat by overly large yellow and black captions that are seemingly intended to “characterize” the player’s strength. For instance, that for Drew Brees reads, “Drew Brees always hits his target”, and in the background there is a graphic of an archery target with an arrow in the bull’s-eye. A number of the photos selected present the player in a position in which his face is obscured by his helmet and cage, thereby making identification somewhat difficult.

The two-column text for each player briefly provides his history in making his way to the NFL, including challenges and triumphs, with Ryan incorporating quotes by and about the player. The entries are somewhat heavy on highlight and/or career stats, records and awards. In a box at the bottom of the text page, Ryan adds a bit of trivia associated with the player. That for Drew Brees reads: “SAY WHAT? Brees is the only player in NFL history to throw for at least 5,000 yards in a season more than once. He’s done it four times!”

Football Stars is a book of the moment. In a half dozen years, many of these NFL stars will be outshone by others, and still others will be out of the game entirely, either due to career-ending injuries or retirement. Nonetheless, this most reasonably priced book has a place in today’s school and public libraries. Young fans of NFL football will eat it up, and reluctant readers will respond to its illustration-heavy, text-light content.