baseball in april and other stories by gary soto

1. Baseball in April and Other StoriesbyGary Soto Baseball in April and other stories is a collection of short stories that deal with a variety of subjects from the shame that children without much money sometimes feel to the relationships between children and their parents. The characters in these stories are Latino, but the situations and emotions that they are caught up in are easily identifiable for all children. These stories demonstrate that regardless of race or economic status, there are some experiences and desires that are universal.

3. Broken Chain is a story about a young boy named Alfonso who is constantly striving to improve himself and make himself more attractive. He pushes on his teeth in an attempt to straighten them out, he cleans his bike often, he does sit-ups and is always trying to fix his hair either like Prince�s or like the Bass player from Los Lobos (lobos being the Spanish for �the wolves�.) One day Alfonso meets a pretty girl with pigtails named Sandra and they make a date to go bike riding. Then, as Alfonso cleans his bike before their date the chain breaks, and it seems as though Alfonso is doomed. Luckily, his brother lets him borrow his bike and Alfonso and Sandra have a wonderful time as Alfonso rides around with Sandra in the handle bars.

4. The No-Guitar Bluesstory #5 One day Fausto realizes that what he really wants to do with his life is play guitar. When he asks his mom for one she tells him that she�ll try to get him one but that she can�t guarantee it because a guitar costs so much money. Fausto finds a dog on the street with an address on it�s collar. Fausto guesses that the dog belongs to rich people and makes a plan to take the dog to its owners and tell them that he found it right next to the freeway (a lie) so that they�ll give him some reward money. The owners believe him and are so grateful that they give him 20 dollars, but he feels so guilty about lying that he gives the money to his church. Then his mother remembers that there is an old guitar in the garage and that Fausto can have it. This story teaches us that when you do dishonest things to get what you want, often you feel so bad about what you did that you cannot enjoy what you managed to acquire.

5. Mother and Daughterstory #7 Mrs. Moreno and her daughter Yollie live alone together and get along very well. Unfortunately there is a big dance coming up and they can�t afford to buy Yollie a new dress. Instead Mrs. Moreno buys Yollie new shoes and some black dye to color Yollie�s old dress. Yollie is having a great time at the dance until it begins to rain and her the black dye on her dress begins to come off. Embarrassed, Yollie runs home and yells at her mother. The next day the boy Yollie likes calls and asks her to a movie. She says yes and her mom takes money that she had planned to use for something else and buys Yollie a new shirt, skirt, and pair of shoes. This story illustrates how parents only want the best for their children and will often do whatever they have to in order to help their children. It also demonstrates the tremendous love that Mrs. Moreno has for her child.

6. The Marble Champstory #10 Lupe Medrano is a very smart girl who is the spelling bee champion at her school. However, she�s very clumsy and because of this is not very good at sports. Lupe deeply desires to be good at a sport and so she goes searching for one that she can excel in. One day she tries to play marbles and realizes that this is a game that she can play. Everyday she excercises her thumb by squeezing an eraser and practises her aim. Then she enters the Marble championship and Wins!! This story demonstrates that if people are truly determind to do something and are willing to work hard to achieve it, then they can do anything.

7. Growing Upstory #11 Maria is in tenth grade and she decides that she is old enough to stop going on the boring vacations her family takes. She gets into an aruement with her dad about this and when the rest of her family leaves for vacation she and her dad still haven�t made up because they don�t know how to talk or relate to each other very well. Marie spends the next four days worrying that her family will get into a car accident or get hurt in some way and that it will be her fault because she choose not to go with them. Her family returns home safely and Maria finds out that they had the best trip ever. She wishes that she had gone with her family but realizes that she is growing up and her life is changing. This story illustrates that life changes as people grow up and that relationships with parents may become strained during this period.

8. Spanish Words We Learned Es no problema = it�s no problem Ese = man Los chavalos = the young people Nada = nothing Novios = sweethearts Quiro hablar contigo = I want to talk to you Viejo = old man Viejita = sweet old woman Hijo = son Frijoles = beans

9. Main themes that were explored in the stories Dealing with failure Finding the determination and motivation to be successful in areas that you previously thought you had no talent Dating The importance of being an honest and ethical person How relationships change as people grow up Overcoming problems that arise because someone doesn�t have as much money as they would like

10. Buying this Book This book is available at the following places for those of you who are interested in purchasing it. Barnes and Nobles Amazon.com Borders Now it�s time for the QUIZSHOW