A Summer Life [Paperback]

Gary Soto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1991

Gary Soto writes that when he was five "what I knew best was at ground level." In this lively collection of short essays, Soto takes his reader to a ground-level perspective, resreating in vivid detail the sights, sounds, smells, and textures he knew growing up in his Fresno, California, neighborhood. The "things" of his boyhood tie it all together: his Buddha "splotched with gold," the taps of his shoes and the "engines of sparks that lived beneath my soles," his worn tennies smelling of "summer grass, asphalt, the moist sock breathing the defeat of basesall." The child's world is made up of small things--small, very important things.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

About this collection of 39 sensitive essays and short stories, PW said, "Soto the realist does not neglect his boyhood mischief, and his sly sense of humor is exercised throughout." Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Deceptively simplistic and quietly powerful sketches from a gifted poet and storyteller.”—Booklist

“Soto the realist does not neglect his boyhood mischief, and his sly sense of humor is exercised throughout.”—Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf; Reprint edition (August 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440210240
• ISBN-13: 978-0440210245
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.5 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #297,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( S ) > Soto, Gary
  • #23 in Books > Teens > Biographies
  • #38 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Biographies > Literary

More About the Author

Born in Fresno, California to Mexican American parents, Gary Soto learned the hard work ethic through his share of chores, including mowing lawns, picking grapes, painting house numbers on street curbs, and washing cars. His hard work paid off at California State University at Fresno, from which he graduated with an English degree, and later at the University of California at Irvine, where he earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.Gary Soto is an acclaimed poet, essayist, and fiction writer. The awards for this multi-talented author are many, ranging from the U.S. Award for International Poetry Forum in 1977 for his first published book of poetry, The Elements of San Joaquin, to a Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award in 1985 for Living Up the Street, his first published work of prose recollections. His short story collection Baseball in April, was named an American Library Association's Best Book for Young Adults. In 1993 Gary Soto received the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video for Pool Party, and in 1995 he was nominated for a National Book Award.His other credits include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the California Arts Council. Gary Soto is also one of the youngest poets to appear in the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. Several of his books have been translated into French, Spanish and Italian.Too Many Tamales was named a Booklist Books for Youth Editors' Choices of 1993. Hazel Rochman of Booklist said, "Gary Soto is an accomplished poet and adult writer, and his children's stories are widely popular. His first entry into the picture book genre is a joyful success."When he is not writing, Mr. Soto serves as a volunteer English teacher at his church. He also enjoys eating at new restaurants, which he does often with his wife, Carolyn, and their daughter Mariko. Other members of the Soto household include their two cats, Corky and Sharkie. The Soto family resides in Berkeley, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!, August 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Summer Life (Paperback)

This book was first read to me when I was in fifth grade. Years later I can still remember being in California with the characters in the book - smelling, seeing, touching everything that they smelled, saw and touched. Wow.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Little Boy, A Big World, April 3, 2001

By 

Daniel Olivas (West Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Summer Life (Paperback)

I read Gary Soto's "A Summer Life" while I was writing my first book in order to educate myself in the creation of vibrant, evocative scenes that come out of ordinary, every day experiences. For example, in Soto's essay, "The Shirt," he shows how the tragic, post-Korean War existence of Uncle Shorty seemed magical and special to a young Soto who covets his uncle's shirt: "I used to slip it on when he was asleep, and at the age of five I knew the smell of a man who went and came back from war....It was the shape of muscle, the anger of a tattoo panther hiding behind cotton, the hair in the collar, the small hole where a bullet could have entered and exited without his dying." Or, with the simple first line of "The Weather," Soto can set the stage for the mysteries of climate: "January doesn't show its true face until you can scratch a cold window with a finger." This little book will make you smile (and sometimes wince) as it brings back your own personal memories of growing up. This is a wonderful collection that offers everyone, including new writers, a chance to enjoy and learn from beautifully crafted essays.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Summer Life por Gary Soto, December 4, 2000

By 

Raul Miguel P-nuez (Little Mexico, Nebraska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Summer Life (Paperback)

A Summer Life explores a young boys life as he grows up in Fresno, California. In a three partbook, broken into thirteen short chapters in each part, Gary Soto covers everything from "TheColors", to "The Chicks", to "The Computer Date". (names of chapters). Mischeivness wasdefinitely a part of this boys life, just as it is for most young boys. In just the first chapter, "TheBuddha", the boy killed ants with his Buddha toy, and ran underneath a moving semi-truck. The boy would do such silly things as taking old bicycle handle bars and imagining that they would slow him down and keep him from reaching a high, uncontrollable speed. He would also put bottle caps on the bottom of his shoes, then he would kick the cement to make an "engine of sparks" come from beneath his feet. Throughout the story the boy has a few problems with his siblings. When his sister chewed Bazooka bubble gum and saved the proof of purchases to send in and get a locket, he wanted her to get the binoculars instead. As the boy has these experiences with his family and his surrounding, he matures from age five to seventeen, and is confronted with events that teach him lessons about life. Gary Soto definitely shows his poet style of writing in A Summer Life. There is rarely a detail missed. This was truly a great book and I recommend it to readers who enjoy real life situations, a sly sense of humor, and a realist style of writing. I would give "A Summer Life" three thumbs up if I had another hand! -RmP