Length3h 50m
About this audiobook
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 listener to a ground-level perspective, recreating 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 baseball." The child's world is made up of small things—small, very important things.
A respected poet and an innovator of the short essay form, Soto offers nearly snapshot-like glances of moments unique in form yet universal in content. Growing up Chicano and male, Soto gives us a rag-tag race through his neighborhood, speaking equally as well to the childhood experiences of us all.
Anyone who remembers the fifties or who knows anything about growing up in the fifties will relish Soto's rich poetic descriptions. Teachers and students of writing will relish Soto's rich poetic descriptions. Teachers and students of writing will also find inspiration in these tightly knit and highly imaginative stories. Soto offers much more than humorous and poignant recollections; he wraps each memory in a poetry that lingers pleasantly in the reader's mind.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★ 3.4 (295)
Includes Goodreads
GenreChildren's Literature
Length3 hrs 50 mins
Narrated byDaniel Duque-Estrada
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJul 1, 2013
LanguageEnglish
More from Gary Soto
Crazy WeekendGary Soto2h 48m3.4 (81)$15
Summer on WheelsGary Soto3h4.1 (147)$15
Instant WinnerGary Soto4h 51m3.0 (11)$14
Baseball in April and Other StoriesGary Soto2h 48m3.8 (2.8K)$15
Off and RunningGary Soto2h 34m3.8 (208)$15
Accidental LoveGary Soto3h 49m3.6 (1.6K)$15
Big Nate Blasts OffLincoln Peirce2h 4m4.7 (13.7K)$16 · $0.00
A Wolf Called FireRosanne Parry4h 7m4.7 (1.2K)$7 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman3h 2m4.6 (15.6K)$18 · $0.00
RevolutionariesSanjeev Sanyal7h 25m4.6 (1.9K)$24 · $0.00
Warriors #6: The Darkest HourErin Hunter8h 8m4.6 (70.2K)$26 · $0.00
Bible 09: 1 SamuelKing James2h 28m4.6 (1.6K)$12 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Beatrix Potter: 22 Children's Books with Original IllustrationsBeatrix Potter5h 3m4.6 (3.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Violet Fairy Book (Annotated)Andrew Lang11h 39m4.7 (304)$2 · $0.00
Little Lord Fauntleroy (Annotated)Frances Hodgson Burnett7h 56m4.6 (1.5K)$0.99 · $0.00
The Nutcracker and The Mouse King (Annotated)E.T.A. Hoffmann4h 4m4.6 (1.5K)$2 · $0.00
REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM & NEW CHRONICLES OF REBECCA (Children's Book Classics) (Annotated)Kate Douglas Wiggin15h 32m4.6 (1.4K)$0.99 · $0.00
Just William (Illustrated) (Annotated)Richmal Crompton6h 30m4.6 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Labors of Hercules BealGary D. Schmidt8h 17m4.6 (10.4K)$8 · $0.00
Clancy of the Overflow (The Matilda Saga, #9)Jackie French14h 24m4.6 (471)$33 · $0.00
The Great Fairy Tales - Oscar Wilde Edition (Illustrated) (Annotated)Oscar Wilde6h 31m4.6 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
Alice's Adventures in WonderlandLewis Carroll3h4.5 (5.9K)$7.99 · $0.00
The Boy Who Followed His Father into AuschwitzJeremy Dronfield6h 54m4.5 (28.5K)$24 · $0.00
Bat and the End of EverythingElana K. Arnold2h 40m4.6 (2.3K)$18 · $0.00
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #6: Ghost HunterMichelle Paver6h 20m4.5 (11.7K)$24 · $0.00
Masterminds: PaybackGordon Korman6h 51m4.5 (5.8K)$24 · $0.00
You may also like
The Mill on the FlossGeorge Eliot21h 12m4.0 (77.9K)Free
Mean Dads for a Better AmericaTom Shillue6h 37m4.2 (342)$24 · $0.00
My InventionsNikola Tesla2h 56m4.1 (17.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
A Tale of Love and DarknessAmos Oz23h 51m4.2 (18.1K)$25 · $0.00
The Lost LandscapeJoyce Carol Oates11h 25m3.9 (1.2K)$29 · $0.00
An American ChildhoodAnnie Dillard, Janet Stevens8h 28m3.9 (14.3K)$17
The Mill on the FlossGeorge Eliot25h 39m4.0 (116.1K)$18 · $0.00
Personal Memoirs of U. S. GrantUlysses S. Grant30h 36m4.4 (18.1K)$2 · $0.00
LOOK HOMEWARD, ANGELThomas Wolfe26h 31m4.1 (23.6K)$1.99 · $0.00
Jack’s BookBarry Gifford, Lawrence Lee11h 12m4.2 (1.3K)$30 · $0.00
The Story of Charlotte’s WebMichael Sims7h 25m4.0 (2.6K)$22 · $0.00
Emily of New MoonL. M. Montgomery12h 23m4.3 (56.5K)$2.30 · $0.00
The Getting of WisdomHenry Handel Richardson7h 19m3.6 (2.3K)$17
Welcome HomeLucia Berlin4h 14m3.9 (2.1K)$17
A Song Called HomeSara Zarr7h 37m4.1 (1.6K)$26 · $0.00
BoyhoodLeo Tolstoy3h 8m3.9 (2.8K)$4.10 · $0.00
The Story of a Bad Boy (Children's Book)Thomas Bailey Aldrich7h 6m4.2 (2K)$1.99 · $0.00
Coming up for airGeorge Orwell8h 29m3.9 (26.7K)$4 · $0.00
The Story of a Bad Boy (Annotated)Thomas Bailey Aldrich7h 5m3.9 (331)$2 · $0.00
You're Better Than MeBonnie McFarlane7h 44m4.0 (711)$26 · $0.00