Most Popular Books by Gary Soto

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.

Soon he discovers that he is in his office at a Baptist college in the Simi Valley of Southern California, a place that is familiar to many Americans as the home of many of the jurors who tried and convicted Rodney King in the 1990s. Silver has become a professor of English! Moreover, as he soon discovers to his horror, he is having an affair with the wife of the college president. And someone seems to be selling drugs on campus and Silver seems to be involved though he doesn''t know how."--BOOK JACKET.

In this new collection of poems, Gary Soto once again displays his impressive poetic range- funny, sad, urbane, nave. He digs deeply into his California hometown of Fresno and explores the wonder of the everyday in an ever-shifting world. In Soto''s poems, precocious Berkeley dogs practice feng shui, raisins march out of a factory under the nose of the night watchman, and shirts are ironed "with the steam of Mother''s hate." In the darker second part of the collection, Soto offers 12 "film treatments for David Lynch." What skincrawling delight Lynch could conjure with the tightwad furniture salesmen who meets his death in a pool "blue as toilet wash." Then, back from the brink, Soto presents in the final section a single long poem as graceful and meditative as anything he''s written to date.One Kind of Faithconfirms Gary Soto''s immense talent and will bring his voice to an even wider audience.

¡Viva la causa! ¡Viva César Chávez! Up and down the San Joaquin Valley of California, and across the country, people chanted these words. Cesar Chavez, a migrant worker himself, was helping Mexican Americans work together for better wages, for better working conditions, for better lives. No one thought they could win against the rich and powerful growers. But Cesar was out to prove them wrong -- and that he did.

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

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.

A collection of poems about childhood.

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.

The coolest cat in the barrio is back! 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.

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.

A timely new edition of a pioneering work in Latino literature, National Book Award nominee Gary Soto''s first collection (originally published in 1977) draws on California''s fertile San Joaquin Valley, the people, the place, and the hard agricultural work done there by immigrants. In these poems, joy and anger, violence and hope are placed in both the metaphorical and very real circumstances of the Valley. Rooted in personal experiences—of the poet as a young man, his friends, family, and neighbors—the poems are spare but expansive, with Soto''s voice as important as ever. This welcome new edition has been expanded with a crucial selection of complementary poems (some previously unpublished) and a new introduction by the author.

Follows the lives of three Hispanic men living in Oakland.

For fans of the Legendary Alston Boys, an uproarious contemporary adventure story with a dash of fantasy about two friends who start a non-singing duo, go viral, and become unlikely international rock stars, bringing mindfulness to the middle school masses. At Visalia Middle School, nothing exciting ever happens. For Jason and Sean, eating candy at recess and dreaming of a future filled with fame and fortune is usually the highlight of their day. But when Sean stumbles across a video of a composer’s deliberately silent performance piece, the boys come up with an idea for a musical act that performs non-songs. And when a video of their first concert goes viral, the duo suddenly finds their dreams of stardom coming true—despite their lack of any musical talent. Soon they’re off on a globe-trotting adventure where, with the help of a cockatiel translator and an eleven-year-old talent agent, they unintentionally popularize the concept of quiet mindfulness and discover that fame can be fickle, but friendship is forever.

At Little League, Luis is catching fly balls, stealing bases, and hitting like a champ. But there is a problem: he thinks he''s getting good luck from the snacks he samples at the supermarket before every game. Then one day his mom goes directly to the field and he has a horrible practice. The day she skips the stop at the store before a game, he strikes out twice. Luckily, Luis''s father understands and convinces him that practice and concentration matter much more than any superstition.

What do Gaby Lopez, Michael Robles, and Cynthia Rodriguez have in common? These three kids join other teens and tweens in Gary Soto''s new short story collection, in which the hard-knock facts of growing up are captured with humor and poignance. Filled with annoying siblings, difficult parents, and first loves, these stories are a masterful reminder of why adolescence is one of the most frustrating and fascinating times of life.

The award-winning author of "Baseball in April and Other Stories" deftly captures all the angst, expectation, and humor that comes with first love in this swift, lighthearted romance.

At age thirteen, best friends Ronnie and Joey suddenly feel like chimps--long armed, big eared, and gangly--and when the coach humiliates Joey in front of a girl, he climbs up a tree and refuses to come down.

A chorus of essays from a variety of voices, backgrounds, and experiences, exploring what it means to be human and true to yourself. What does it mean to be yourself? To be born here or somewhere else? To be from one family instead of another? What does it mean to be human? Collected by Lori Carlson-Hijuelos, A Path to the World showcases essays by a vast variety of luminaries—from Gary Soto to Nawal Nasrallah to Ying Ying Yu, from chefs to artists to teens to philosophers to politicians (keep your eyes peeled for a surprise appearance by George Washington)—all of which speak to the common thread of humanity, the desire to be your truest self, and to belong. Contributors include: Lori Marie Carlson-Hijuelos, Joseph Bruchac, Jacinto Jesús Cardona, William Sloane Coffin, Pat Conroy, Mario Cuomo, Timothy Egan, Alan Ehrenhalt, Shadi Feddin, Ralph Fletcher, Valerie Gribben, Alexandre Hollan, Molly Ivins, Geeta Kothari, Jeremy Lee, Yuyi Li, Emily Lisker, Kamaal Majeed, Madge McKeithen, Nawal Nasrallah, Scott Pitoniak, Anna Quindlen, Michael J. Sandel, Raquel Sentíes, David E. Skaggs, Gary Soto, Alexandra Stoddard, KellyNoel Waldorf, George Washington, and Ying Ying Yu.