Baseball in April and Other Stories by Gary Soto

First published: 1990

Subjects: Coming-of-age, emotions, family, love and romance, and sports

Type of work: Short fiction

Recommended Ages: 10-13

Form and Content

Baseball in April and Other Stories provides a reassuring look at growing up. Written for a middle-school audience, this collection of short stories offers a window into how circumstances in the lives of students in this age group are often perceived and how problems are resolved.

“Broken Chain” centers on first love and troublesome brothers. In preparing his bike for his first date with Sandra, Alfonso breaks the chain. Although his brother Ernie will not change his plans to help Alfonso, he does come through in time so that Alfonso can use Ernie’s bike for his date. At least Alfonso can “ride” Sandra on his handlebars. The story ends with her hands on his, and “it felt like love.”

“Baseball in April” also focuses on two brothers, Jesse and Michael, nine and ten years old, respectively, who hope to play Little League Baseball. Not making the cut, they join the Hobos, the leftovers, but only Jesse stays with the team. Despite their best efforts, the Hobos lose all their games. One day, only four boys show up for practice. Jesse fails to show up the following day and feels guilty, worried that a sole teammate will find himself on the bench, waiting.

In “Two Dreamers,” a boy and his grandfather think about speculating in real estate. Hector’s grandfather Luis is inspired by his son-in-law’s ability to buy and sell a house with enough profit to buy a brand-new car and to build a brick fence around his house. Unsupported by his wife, Luis and nine-year-old Hector inspect a house, and his grandfather persuades Hector to call the agent to learn the price. When it is far more money than anticipated, and because Hector’s grandmother almost catches them, Luis and Hector gratefully escape to mow the yard—two “hardworking guys” who still have dreams.

In “Barbie,” owning a real Barbie is Veronica’s dream. A Christmas ago, she received an imitation Barbie, and this Christmas there was no doll at all until Uncle Rudy surprises her with a real Barbie. Ecstatic, she takes her doll to play with her friend Martha, but when Martha tries to switch Barbies, Veronica leaves. On the way home, Veronica realizes that Barbie’s head is missing and spends hours searching for it. Heartbroken, she goes to bed, cradling both of her “Barbies.”

“The No-Guitar Blues” features Fausto, a boy with a dream to start his own band by playing the guitar. When he pretends to find a lost dog and receives twenty dollars as a reward for returning it, Fausto feels guilty. He redeems himself by going to Mass and placing the bill into the offering basket. That night at dinner, his mother offers him a bass guitarron that had belonged to his grandfather. Goodness appears to prompt rewards and nurture dreams.

In “Seventh Grade,” Victor experiences the complications of love. Trying to impress Teresa, he pretends that he can speak French, which he cannot. An understanding teacher keeps his secret, and Teresa is suitably impressed, enough to ask him to help her with her French assignments.

The story “Mother and Daughter” honors this special relationship. Because there is no money for a new dress for the dance, Mrs. Moreno dyes Yollie’s summer dress to go with her new black shoes. Feeling stylish, Yollie goes to the dance, but a rainstorm causes her dress to run. Yollie runs home, embarrassed and angry. When Ernie calls the next day to find out why she ran away and to see if she would like to go to the movies, her mother reveals her secret stash of money, money she had put aside for Yollie. Mrs. Moreno wonders why they did not use it earlier, and the pair go shopping for clothes guaranteed not to bleed.

To be “The Karate Kid” is a dream of virtually all young boys at one time or another, and fifth-grader Gilbert is no exception. Convinced that learning karate will help him defeat the playground bully, Gilbert persuades his mother that he needs lessons. The lessons are taught by an uninspired and uninspiring instructor, and Gilbert soon wants to quit. He finally gets his wish when the studio closes. Looking for other solutions to handle the school bully, Gilbert begins reading Superman comic books.

“La Bamba” is the humorous story of Manuel, who yearns for the spotlight and so volunteers to lip-synch the song “La Bamba” for the school talent show. On stage, Manuel is doing fine until the record gets stuck on the line, “para bailar la bamba.” Nearly crying by the time he gets off stage, he is amazed when classmates congratulate him on his comic act. When he receives a burst of applause during the curtain call, he cares little about why he is receiving so much attention; he simply enjoys the fact that he is.

“The Marble Champ” refers to Lupe, a girl who is frequently in the limelight for academic achievements but never for athletic ones. Finally, she tries marbles and assiduously practices for weeks before the marble championship. Using the same powers of concentration and commitment that have caused her to do well academically, she learns the game and indeed becomes the champion.

“Growing Up” describes the dilemma of all adolescents as they try to differentiate themselves from their families. Based on the disappointments of previous vacations, tenth-grader Maria decides that she is not going this year. When she hears that a family is hurt in a freeway accident, Maria spends the following days worrying about her family’s safety. When they return and describe the best vacation ever, she is upset with them for leaving her behind. Hugging her dolls, Maria realizes that she is growing up—and she even enjoys her brothers’ antics at dinner.

Critical Context

Gary Soto is of critical importance to children’s and young adult literature because, with Baseball in April and Other Stories in 1990, he became the first Mexican American author to have a children’s book released by a mainstream publishing company. A Fire in My Hands, Soto’s book of poetry for children, was also published that year, and two more poetry collections soon followed: Neighborhood Odes (1992) and Canto Familiar (1995). It is not surprising that poetry would be included in his introductory year to children’s literature, since most of Soto’s earlier works consisted of poetry for adults.

Another collection of short fiction by Soto that is appropriate for this age group is Local News (1993). Some of his novels that middle-school students might enjoy are Taking Sides (1991), a story of loyalties both on and off the basketball court; Pacific Crossing (1992), a story of martial arts and a summer in Japan; The Pool Party (1993), a young boy’s reconciliation with his identity as a Mexican American in Southern California; Crazy Weekend (1994), a hilarious “cops and robbers” kind of adventure; and Jesse (1994), a realistic look at the potential of Mexican American youth. Soto’s collections of autobiographical essays include Living up the Street (1985), Small Faces (1986), and A Summer Life (1990).

Soto’s strength as a writer is exhibited in the variety of genres and audiences that he has addressed. Younger students might enjoy his short novel The Skirt (1992), the tale of a girl named Miata who loses the special skirt that she needs for the folklorico, or his picture books Too Many Tamales (1993), a Christmas Eve story involving a missing wedding ring and “too many tamales,” and Chato’s Kitchen (1995), in which a cat attempts to rid his barrio of little mice and ends up having them for dinner as guests instead of as the main course.

Bibliography

Blasingame, James. “Interview with Gary Soto.” Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 47 (November, 2003): 266-267.

Bruce-Novoa, Juan. “Patricide and Resurrection: Gary Soto.” In Chicano Poetry: A Response to Chaos. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1982.

Candelaria, Cordelia. Chicano Poetry. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1986.

Cooley, Peter. “I Can Hear You Now.” Parnassus 8, no. 1 (1979): 297-311.

De la Fuentes, Patricia. “Mutability and Stasis: Images of Time in Gary Soto’s Black Hair.” American Review 16 (1988): 188-197.

Murphy, Patricia. “Inventing Lunacy: An Interview with Gary Soto.” Hayden’s Ferry Review 18 (Spring/Summer, 1996): 29-37.

Olivares, Julián. “The Streets of Gary Soto.” Latin American Literary Review 18 (January-June, 1990): 32-49.

Soto, Gary. “The Childhood Worries: Or, Why I Became a Writer.” Iowa Review 25 (Spring/Summer, 1995): 104-115.

Williamson, Alan. “In a Middle Style.” Poetry 135 (March, 1980): 348-354.