Free Baseball In April And Other Stories Ebooks Online
The Mexican American author Gary Soto draws on his own experience of growing up in California’s Central Valley in this finely crafted collection of eleven short stories that reveal big themes in the small events of daily life. Crooked teeth, ponytailed girls, embarrassing grandfathers, imposter Barbies, annoying brothers, Little League tryouts, and karate lessons weave the colorful fabric of Soto’s world. The smart, tough, vulnerable kids in these stories are Latino, but their dreams and desires belong to all of us. Glossary of Spanish terms included. Awards: ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Booklist Editors’ Choice, Horn Book Fanfare Selection, Judy Lopez Memorial Honor Book, Parenting Magazine’s Reading Magic Award, John and Patricia Beatty Award
Lexile Measure: 830L (What's this?)
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (April 1, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0152025677
ISBN-13: 978-0152025670
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.3 x 7.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #63,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #65 in Books > Children's Books > Geography & Cultures > Multicultural Stories > Hispanic & Latino #95 in Books > Children's Books > Sports & Outdoors > Baseball #147 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Short Story Collections
Age Range: 7 - 10 years
Grade Level: 2 - 5
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.
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: How to Lose Your Faith in Divinity School
It delivers a warm Mexican-American voice, and speaks to middle schoolers with great authenticity. My Mexican-American students who read this book have commented: "This book is about me, I can't believe how real it is." "Do you have more books by Gary Soto, I want to read them all." I never read a book like this before, it's so real."
I bought just one copy of the book, but I put it under the document camera and on the Interwrite board. I had a very small ESL reading class (only 12 students), and they got a big kick out of most of the stories in this book. All of the students were 6th and 7th grade Hispanic students and they could really relate to the stories about Hispanics in CA who were there their age.The book arrived quickly and I was able to find some free lesson plans online to print out. A great buy and I plan to use the book again with another class of students this year. I'm sure they'll like the stories, too. If I didn't have to buy books myself without reimbursement, I'd sure buy at set of these books!
This book has a ton of stories with mostly latino characters. The characters are all different but all seem nice. Gary Soto uses discriptive writing like "Alfonso sat on the porch trying to push his crooked teeth to where he thought they belonged. He hated the way they looked." I think Latinos would like this book because they use alot of Latino words. This book is interesting because it has suspence and you dont know whats going to happen next so you want to keep reading on. I will look for more of Gary Soto's books because I like the way he writes.
Gary Soto can see the world through the eyes of children and young adults. My fifth grade students related well to his stories, and so did I. Children are not talked down to. Messages for adults as well. Good for reluctant readers.
I ordered this book to using in my classrooms library, received it and began looking through the stories when I saw it was signed by the author himself! I have since added the book to my home library to keep safe.
This book was required reading for my 5th grade granddaughter. She liked the baseball story, but not the "other" ones. There were 11 other books on her reading list, and this was one of her least favorites. Where the Red Fern Grows was her favorite, also Hatchet.
Baseball in April and Other Stories Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders: A Complete Guide to the Worst Decisions and Stupidest Moments in Baseball History Baseball Maverick: How Sandy Alderson Revolutionized Baseball and Revived the Mets Will Big League Baseball Survive?: Globalization, the End of Television, Youth Sports, and the Future of Major League Baseball The League of Outsider Baseball: An Illustrated History of Baseball's Forgotten Heroes The Kurious Kid Presents: Baseball: Awesome Amazing Spectacular Facts & Photos of Baseball The Everything Kids' Baseball Book: From Baseball's History to Today's Favorite Players--With Lots of Home Run Fun in Between! Baseball Card Price Guide (Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide) The Official Beckett Price Guide to Baseball Cards 2010, Edition #30 (Beckett Official Price Guide to Baseball Card) Line Drives: 100 Contemporary Baseball Poems (Writing Baseball) Mexican American Baseball in Orange County (Images of Baseball) Department of the Army Pamphlet DA PAM 670-1 Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia April 2015 George Miller and American lithography, February 13-April 4, 1976: [catalogue of an exhibition organized by the] National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Food and Drugs, Pt. 200-299, Revised as of April 1, 2016 April Blood: Florence and the Plot against the Medici Architectural Digest March April 1971 with Color Cover, articles Helena Rubinstein Offices in New York , Ingrid Bergman Country Home in France, Revival of Lithography He Has Shot the President!: April 14, 1865: The Day John Wilkes Booth Killed President Lincoln (Actual Times) National Geographic Magazine, April 1962 (Vol. 121, No. 4) April 1865: The Month That Saved America (P.S.) April 1865: The Month That Saved America
