Description: In this unique collection of short stories, the small events of daily life reveal big themes--love and friendship, youth and growing up, success and failure. The smart, tough, vulnerable kids in these stories are Latino, but their dreams and desires belong to us all. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults, "Booklist" Editor's Choice, "Horn Book" Fanfare Selection.

Brief description:

Gary Soto's first book for young readers, Baseball in April and Other Stories, won the California Library Association's Beatty Award and was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. He has since published many novels, short stories, plays, and poetry collections for adults and young people. He lives in Berkeley, California. Visit his website at garysoto.com.

Review Quotes:

"A fine collection of stories that offers a different cultural perspective about feelings common to all teenagers. Soto writes well and with tremendous insight into the process of growing up." - Boston Globe

"Gary Soto is an astute observer of the desires, fears, and foibles of children and teenagers going about the business of daily living. In these eleven vignettes featuring Mexican American families, the character portrayals are gentle; the tone is quiet and somewhat bittersweet; and respect for family is a consistent value. This illumination of the everyday will strike chords of recognition in readers of all ages." - The Horn Book

"[Soto's] sensitivity to young people's concerns and his ability to portray the world as it is perceived by children is nothing less than remarkable." - Los Angeles Times Book Review

"His stories are moving, yet humorous and entertaining. The best are also quite subtle. Baseball in April is more than literature for teenagers." - New York Times

Worth Considering