Most Popular Books by Gary Soto

An exuberant celebration of everyday life from an award-winning team.

In a prose that is so beautiful it is poetry, we see the world of growing up and going somewhere through the dust and heat of Fresno''s industrial side and beyond: It is a boy''s coming of age in the barrio, parochial school, attending church, public summer school, and trying to fall out of love so he can join in a Little League baseball team. His is a clarity that rings constantly through the warmth and wry reality of these sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic, always human remembrances.

Gary Soto writes that when he was five "what I knew best was at ground level." In this lively collection of short essays, Soto takes his reader to a ground-level perspective, resreating in vivid detail the sights, sounds, smells, and textures he knew growing up in his Fresno, California, neighborhood. The "things" of his boyhood tie it all together: his Buddha "splotched with gold," the taps of his shoes and the "engines of sparks that lived beneath my soles," his worn tennies smelling of "summer grass, asphalt, the moist sock breathing the defeat of basesall." The child''s world is made up of small things--small, very important things.

Ages 12 and up.

In thirteen stories published with wit and energy, Gary Soto illuminates the ordinary lives of young people.

Two Mexican American brothers hope that junior college will help them escape their heritage of tedious physical labor.

For fans of Gary Soto and Matt de la Peña comes a tale of a contemporary Mexican-American family with a "spunky and imaginative heroine" (Publishers Weekly). Miata Ramirez is scared and upset. The skirt she brought to show off at school is gone. She brought her forklorico skirt to show off at school and left it on the bus. It’s not just any skirt. This skirt belonged to Miata’s mother when she was a child in Mexico. On Sunday, Miata and her dance group are supposedgoing to dance forklorico, or traditional Mexican folk dances; and that kind of dancing requires a skirt like the one Miata lost. It’s Friday afternoon. Miata doesn’ t want her parents to know she’s lost something again. Can she find a way to rescue the precious skirt in time? With its focus on family ties, friendship, and ethnic pride and Includes an afterword from its acclaimedthe author, The Skirt is a story that children everywhere will relate to and be inspired by, no matter their background. "A light, engaging narrative that successfully combines information on Hispanic culture with familiar and recognizable childhood themes....A fine read-aloud and discussion starter, this story blends cultural differences with human similarities to create both interest and understanding."—SLJ “Light, easy reading . . . offering readers a cast and situations with which to identify, whatever their own ethnic origins.”—The Bulletin "Soto''s light tale offers a pleasant blend of family ties, friendship and ethnic pride...[and Miata is] a spunky and imaginative heroine."—Publishers Weekly

A senior at East Fresno High School lives on as a ghost after his brutal murder in the restroom of a club where he had gone to dance.

This modern classic celebrates the tradition of tamales and family bonding at Christmas. Christmas Eve started out so perfectly for Maria. Snow had fallen and the streets glittered. Maria''s favorite cousins were coming over and she got to help make the tamales for Christmas dinner. It was almost too good to be true when her mother left the kitchen for a moment and Maria got to try on her beautiful diamond ring . . . This is the story of a treasure thought to be lost in a batch of tamales; of a desperate and funny attempt by Maria and her cousins to eat their way out of trouble; and the warm way a family pulls together to make it a perfect Christmas after all. Also available in Spanish as ¡Qué montón de tamales!

Soto writes with a pure sweetness free of sentimentality that is almost extraordinary in modern American poetry. -- Andrew Hudgins. Soto insists on the possibility of a redemptive power, and he celebrates the heroic, quixotic capacity for survival in human beings and the natural world. -- Publishers Weekly. Soto has it all -- the learned craft, the intrinsic abilities with language, a fascinating autobiography, and the storyteller''s ability to manipulate memories into folklore. -- Library Journal.

Catch election fever when fifth grader Miata Ramirez runs for president against school prankster, Rudy Herrera. Miata and her running mate, Ana, mean business. But the boys are loud and get attention. With time running out, the girls try to think of how to quickly change their image before the election.

Chato decides to throw a "pachanga" for his friend Novio Boy, who has never had a birthday party, but when it is time to party, Novio Boy cannot be found.

"Fourteen-year-old Lincoln Mendoza, an aspiring basketball player, must come to terms with his divided loyalties when he moves from the Hispanic inner city to a white suburban neighborhood" -- Title page verso.

A collection of eleven short stories focusing on the everyday adventures of Hispanic young people growing up in Fresno, California.

Who would bring the door, la puerta, to a picnic instead of the pig, el puerco? An old man who''s great at gardening but lousy at listening to his wife! "In the universal tradition of the wise-fool story, this gentle disaster tale is funny and affectionate....The combination is great for reading aloud." -- Booklist"Cepeda makes brilliant use of color, form, and perspective to add humor to the work. It''s a story children will want to retell themselves." -- Kirkus Reviews

From "Worry at the end of the month" to "Good morning, Fresno," Soto writes of the Chicano experience and of life as all live it.

The author''s twenty-one poems are about the themes of life and each is preceded by a personal anecdote.

Twenty-five poems about the pleasures and woes that Mexican American children experience growing up.

When he moves from the barrio to the suburbs, Lincoln Mendoza faces conflicting loyalties when his new basketball team plays his old school.

Teresa loves to show off her shiny, new, pedal-powered lowrider car from Grandpa, but the toy soon looks old when she neglects it.

A poignant, humorous collection by acclaimed poet Gary Soto The fleeting emotions of teenagers, as changeable as the weather, ring true in these emotionally resonant poems. Told from the point of view of both boys and girls, narrators of various ethnicities fall in love for the first time, pine over crushes, and brood over broken hearts. Tender, lighthearted, and surprising, this collection will capture teens, tweens, and anyone who remembers what it’s like to be a young person in love.

Rudy Herrera is surprised and excited when he gets an invitation to a pool party. It''s from Tiffany Perez, the richest and most popular girl in school. Rudy''s grandmother, "El Shorty," thinks he is going off to shoot pool. His sister, Estela, warns him not to make a fool of himself, or worse, embarass her. Rudy''s father teaches him how to make small talk and tells him Tiffany will like him because he''s a real person, not a phony. All Rudy cares about is what to wear, what kinds of dives to do, and what to bring Tiffany. When the big day arrives, Rudy is in high spirits. Will he make a big splash at the pool party? From Grandfather "El Shorty" to Little Rudy, the Herreras are a family who not only live and work together, but love and enjoy one another. Gary Soto, poet and storyteller, gives young readers a story of simple pleasures, simply told and simply wonderful.

Ten stories portray some of the struggles and hopes of young Mexican Americans.

Maria esta ayudando con la preparacion de los tamales de Navidad y decide calarse el anillo de diamantes de su mama ... pero no descubre que el anillo a desaparecido hasta horas despues.

A hip, funny, Latino rendition of Grease, this play features three cool muchachos who come to the aid of Martin, a chicano nerd who loves a beautiful, popular girl, Ceci, from afar.With the help of his friends, Martin changes his miage and impresses Ceci and her friends, without letting on who he is. This is a problem for Ceci, because, in the meantime, she''s transformed herself into a Chicana nert to win the heard of her secret love--Martin. A totally modern, totally cool tale of teenage romance.

Who would bring the door, "la puerta", to a picnic instead of the pig, "el puerco"? An old man who''s great at gardening but lousy at listening to his wife! "A playful original folktale that is sure to get laughs".--"School Library Journal". Illustrations. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Features Silver Mendez, a Chicano poet on the skids, and not far from Skid Row. Embedded in Silver''s heart and mind is his belief in "el movimiento of the 1960s, despite the fact that life apparently offers him "nada--until he meets Linda, a love from that very past.

Ganador del premio de ilustración Pura Belpré 1996 The Spanish edition of a modern classic. Chato can''t believe his luck. Not only is he the coolest low-riding cat in East L.A., but his brand-new neighbors are the plumpest, juciest, tastiest-looking family of mice to move into the barrio in a long time. So Chato and his best friend, Novio Boy, get out the pots and pans, the tortillas and the beans--everything you''d need for a welcoming feast, except for the main dish, and the guests of honor. Of course, in Chato''s mind they are one and the same thing. But the mice are bringing a surprise guest of their own, who may be more than a cool cat can swallow.

Maya, the flower girl, describes a Mexican American wedding through snapshots of the day''s events, beginning with the procession to the altar and ending with her sleeping after the dance.

When ten-year-old Rudy breaks an older boy''s Discman at a baseball game, he and his friend Alex come up with a variety of ways to make money to pay for a new one.

After learning that her family is relocating, Marisol must find some way to still practice her dance.

Ninth-grade Rudy has asked eleventh-grade Patricia out on a date, and to his amazement she has agreed. Now Rudy has to come up with the money, the poise, and the conversation to carry it off. This one-act play, by turns heartwarming and heart-wrenching, follows Rudy from his desperate search for guidance from family and friends through the hilarities of the date itself, all the way to its successful conclusion. “To present a new kind of coming-of-age story, a play is the way.”--American Bookseller

National Book Award finalist Gary Soto presents a collection of 40 new poems that will bring a wry smile of recognition to anyone who has endured the misguided realities of childhood and adolescence.