Baseball in April and Other Stories

I have used this book for three years now as a teacher of Spanish. My students of Spanish 3 and I read a few stories every year as part of a day of reading that we do every week the second half of the year. The students enjoy the stories because they are similar to their own experiences with school, family, and social events. I enjoy using this book every year.

I discovered Gary Soto's poetry in a public library in Nebraska. Then I read his short stories, my favorite being "Baseball in April." Like his poetry, these stories are beautiful in that they reveal a child's inner thought life; they also show the challenges that teenagers go through. Soto takes us back to his childhood in California. The stories occur in sunny Fresno, which is in the Central Valley. The characters, dilemmas, and emotions that he evokes are so real that I often read them over saying, "Yes, I remember feeling like that." I mostly read adult literature but have been reading a lot in young adult literature, because I often forget what it was like to be a young boy. Soto has a gift for recalling these events and making them come alive again. I've read this collection three times and have read all of Soto's poetry. I hightly recommend "Baseball in April," as well as the poetry collection "Black Hair." Also recommended: The Gospel of Arnie

I read this book with a group of 6th graders, and both they and I loved it. It tells real, funny, heartfelt tales about growing up that both adults and kids can relate to. It was so nice to find a book that won such a positive reaction from my students.

I am a college student attending Northern Michigan University in the Elementary Education program. I have read quite a number of books this semester and this has to be my favorite. While at first I was not crazy about reading a book that featured Mexican-Americans, I soon erased any doubt I had about the book. This book was not only about Mexican-Americans, it was about every single child that has grown up in the last twenty years. Mr. Soto has truly captured what it is like to grow up. The book talks about riding bikes, talking to girls for the first time, spending time with your grandparents, not having to go on the family vacation for the first time, and wanting to take karate lesson because you saw how cool karate could be. If you have trouble remembering what it was like growing up, read this book and you will remember everything that ever happened to you as a child. What this book really hits on is that children grow up and have that same hopes and dreams that every other child in the world has. As a future teacher I would recommend this book to every teacher. While the book may not hold a significant academic value, it definitely holds a strong social value for children. It allows children to see that other children are going through the same exact thing they are. I commend Mr. Soto for publishing such a fine book that looks at the world in the simplest of ways; through a child's eyes.

Esta colección de cuentos adolescentes es excelente para enseñar literatura a los estudiantes nativos en los cursos intermediatos de la escuela elemental o la 'escuela media'. Los temas son reales para el mundo de muchos alumnos. El lector puede identificarse con los personajes en las historias puesto que vienen del mundo del inmigrante, del joven. Toman lugar en Fresno y sus alrededores pero no son muy específicos al lugar. Hay temas tanto para las jovenes como para los jovenes. Aunque fueron escritas en inglés la traducción es bastante buena y el sabor es latino.Gary Soto es un autor latino que debe llegar más a los jovenes latinos tantos los que nacieron en los EE UU como los que acaban de llegar de otras tierras. Me alegro muchísimo que han traducido esta obra para dar una visión del adolescente latino a todos los lectores hispanoparlantes. Es una imagen mucho más real de lo que se ve en el mundo latino que exportamos fuera de nuestras fronteras através del cine o la televisión. La acogida que tuvo en mi clase es mejor que mucha literatura anglosajona que se presenta en traducciones del inglés.