Gary Soto

Biography and Fun Facts:

Born: April 12, 1952

Raised in Fresno, California.

When he was younger, he wanted to be a priest or a paleontologist.

Soto graduated in 1974 from Fresno State College with a B.A. in English.  He started out majoring in geology, and then started reading poetry.  He then started writing, and majored in English.

Soto now lives and is a Professor in Berkeley, California.  He is married and has a daughter.

Quotes:

"You can always spot bright people.  They are reading a book." -Gary Soto

"It appears these days I don't have much of a life because my nose is often stuck in a book.  But I discovered that reading builds a life inside the mind." -Gary Soto

Notable Books:

Meet Manuel, a young man who wears hand-me-downs from his older brothers until he finally gets a brand-new pair of shoes. And Jose Luis, who watches the vet bills rise after he buys a sick rooster to save it from becoming someone's dinner. And Alma, a young woman who runs to every shop and flea market in town buying back the clothes of her dead mother that her father has given away. These Mexican American youths meet life's challenges head-on in this hard-hitting collection of short stories.




For over two decades, the award-winning poet and author Gary Soto has been offering his readers a vision that transcends the ordinary, making him one of today's most celebrated Chicano writers. New and Selected Poems includes the best of his seven full-length collections, plus over 23 new poems previously unpublished in book form. From the charged, short-lined poems of Soto's early writing to an unflinching look at poverty and hard labor in California's Central Valley to the off-beat humor in his longer, more recent work, New and Selected Poems is a timely tribute to a brilliant writer whose work confirms the power of the human spirit to survive and soar.



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.

All of Soto's Books: 

Poetry collections

• Partly Cloudy: Poems of love and longing (Harcourt, 2009)
• A Simple Plan (Chronicle Books, 2007)
• One Kind of Faith (Chronicle Books, 2003)
• Junior College (1997)
• New and selected poems (Chronicle Books, 1995) National Book Award finalist
• Canto Familiar/Familiar Song (1994)
• Neighborhood Odes (1992)
• Home Course in Religion (1991)
• Who Will Know Us? (1990)
• Black Hair (1985)
• Where Sparrows Work Hard (1981)
• The Tale of Sunlight (1978)
• The Elements of San Joaquin (1977)

 Young Adult/Children's Books

• Baseball in April (1990)
• A Fire in My Hands (1991)
• Taking Sides (1991)
• Pacific Crossing (1992)(Sequel to Taking Sides added by DaeQuan Jones)
• Too Many Tamales (1992)
• The Skirt (1992)
• The Pool Party (1993)
• Local News (1993)
• Jesse (1994)
• 7th grade (1994)
• Crazy Weekend (1994)
• Boys at Work (1995)
• Summer On Wheels (1995)
• Canto Familiar (1995)
• The Cat's Meow (1997)
• Fearless Fernie (2002)
• If the Shoe Fits (2002)
• Marisol (2005)
• When Dad Came Back (2011) ebook
• Chato Series

Found on Wikipedia

Awards and Honors:

• Award of the International Poetry Forum
• Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
• Before Columbus Foundations American Book Award
• Hispanic Heritage Award for Literature
• Author-Illustrator Civil Rights Award
• The Nation Prize
• Bess Hokin Prize
• Levinson Award for poetry
• The California Library Association's John and Patricia Beatty Award (twice)
• Tomas Rivera Prize

Reviews:

Snapshots from the Wedding

Summary from book: Meet Maya, Isabel's flower girl, as she describes in vivid detail the exact wedding day.  Maya introduces us to Danny, the ring bearer; Aunt Marta, crying big tears; Uncle Trino, jumpstarting a car in his tuxedo; and Rafael, the groom, with a cast on his arm.  Of course, the big day also includes games, dancing, cake, and a mariachi band that plays long into an evening no one will ever forget.
Snapshots from the Wedding captures the unique moments of a special occasion- the big scenes as well as the little ones- that together form a rich family mosaic.
Personal Response:  I thought the book was very interesting.  I liked how he added humor to a wedding story, and tried to make the story light.  I think that it is important that he wrote from the child's perspective, because children can then try to relate to the story and feel the feelings.  I also think adding Spanish words to the story was a great way for children to relate that know Spanish, as well as children that don't know Spanish (they can learn new words from the story).
General characteristics of the authors writing: He writes poetry, and incorporates Spanish into his writing.

Big Bushy Mustache

Summary of Book: It's almost Cinco de Mayo, and Ricky's class is going to put on a play to celebrate the festive Mexican holiday. When asked to choose his costume, Ricky picks a big, bushy mustache, just like his dad's. He's tired of everyone telling him he looks like his mother.  After all, he's a boy--he wants to look like his Papi. Although he's supposed to leave it in school, Ricky wears the mustache home, reveling all the way in how grown-up it makes him feel. But by the time he gets there, the mustache is gone, and Ricky dreads having to tell his teacher what happened. Lucky for him, his Mama and Papi have a plan. Ricky is delighted the next morning when his Mama hands him a new big, bushy mustache--fresh from the smiling face of his clean-shaven Papi! With humor and tenderness, Soto evokes a warm celebration of both the beloved tradition of Cinco de Mayo and the strong bonds of love between father and son.
Personal Response:  I thought that this book was interesting. It is a story that I think a lot of children can relate to. I liked that the book used a lot of Spanish words, because it would be good for English language learners who speak Spanish because it might give them a sense of security because some of the book is in their native language. It is also a good way for other students to learn some simple Spanish phrases or words.
General characteristics of the author's writing: He incorporates Spanish into the book.







http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/gary-soto
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http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/30743.Gary_Soto