“Fifth-grader Miata Ramirez and her running mate, Ana, decide to challenge class clown Rudy and his friend, Alex, for the office of student body president. Barrie Kreinik’s capable narration of this school tale pleases as she smoothly transitions from unobtrusive narrative to original portrayals of determined Miata, shy Ana, brash Rudy, and his cutup sidekick, Alex. This production offers an engaging look at school politics and the quest for popularity, along with the dynamics of boy/girl relationships…Whether bringing to life the story’s lively dialogue or weaving in Spanish expressions that create the children’s everyday world, Kreinik makes the most of Soto’s engaging story.” —AudioFile
-
- Off and Running
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Barrie Kreinik
-
Release Date: 8/01/13
Formats: Digital Audy
Fifth-grader Miata Ramirez is running for class president. Her best friend, Ana, is her running mate. The girls are stunned when they learn they are running against class clown Rudy Herrera and his friend Alex. At first Miata is certain she will win the election. She has big plans to make the school a better place. She'll clean up the graffiti, plant flowers and trees, and get computers. Rudy is confident he'll get the votes by promising longer recess periods and selling the students ice cream every day. Who will come out on top?
- Off and Running
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Barrie Kreinik
-
Release Date: 8/01/13
Formats: Digital Audy
-
- A Summer Life
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Daniel Duque-Estrada
-
Release Date: 7/01/13
Formats: Digital Audy
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.
- A Summer Life
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Daniel Duque-Estrada
-
Release Date: 7/01/13
Formats: Digital Audy
-
- Instant Winner
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Charlie Thurston
-
Release Date: 6/01/13
Formats: Digital Audy
An original novella from award-winning children's author and poet Gary Soto
Jason Rodriguez is a twelve-year-old who never had much luck—until he wins $3,700 in the lottery and becomes an Instant Winner! Jason can't believe he's won the lottery and decides he will use the money to get his crazy Uncle Mike out of jail. That's where the real adventure begins.
- Instant Winner
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Charlie Thurston
-
Release Date: 6/01/13
Formats: Digital Audy
-
- Accidental Love
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Barrie Kreinik
-
Release Date: 5/01/13
Formats: Digital Audy
It all starts when Marisa picks up the wrong cell phone. When she returns it to Rene, she feels curiously drawn to him. But Marisa and Rene aren't exactly a match made in heaven. For one thing, Marisa is a chola; she's a lot of girl, and she's not ashamed of it. Skinny Rene gangles like a sackful of elbows and wears a calculator on his belt. In other words, he's a geek. So why can't Marisa stay away from him?
- Accidental Love
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Barrie Kreinik
-
Release Date: 5/01/13
Formats: Digital Audy
-
- Crazy Weekend
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Anthony Perez
-
Release Date: 9/01/12
Formats: Digital Audy
When Hector's mother suggests that he and his amigo, Mando, get out of East LA for the weekend and see some of the world, he's thinking Paris. So he's a little disappointed when they end up in Fresno, sleeping on a lumpy couch in his Uncle Julio's messy apartment. Hector figures it's going to be one boring weekend. He couldn't be more wrong. Between flying in a rickety old plane, spotting an armored car heist, and warding off the bumbling thieves who did it, this could be the craziest—and scariest—weekend ever.
- Crazy Weekend
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Anthony Perez
-
Release Date: 9/01/12
Formats: Digital Audy
-
- Summer on Wheels
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Anthony Perez
-
Release Date: 6/01/12
Formats: Digital Audy
Hector and his amigo Mando are looking for adventure as they hit the road on a leisurely bike trip from their East LA neighborhood to the beach in Santa Monica during summer vacation.
They have just set out when the fun begins, as Hector literally stumbles into a starring role in a TV commercial. Then he turns out to be the one-millionth fan at a Dodger game—and is escorted to a private box and treated like a VIP! Before arriving at the beach, the boys record a rap song, paint a mural, and have a good laugh pretending to be wax figures at the Hollywood Wax Museum. But it's the people they encounter along the way who make the trip special—from nerdy cousin Bentley (whom they teach to be cool); to a girl who wants to be an Olympic star and lives in a Beverly Hills mansion complete with two tennis courts and three swimming pools; to Mando's streetwise cousin, Puppet.
In this sequel to the highly praised Crazy Weekend, popular author Gary Soto combines warmth and humor in a lively story of friendship and family.
- Summer on Wheels
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Anthony Perez
-
Release Date: 6/01/12
Formats: Digital Audy
-
- Baseball in April and Other Stories
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Stephanie Diaz and Miguel Gongora
-
Release Date: 4/15/90
Formats: Digital Audy
Gary Soto, an award-winning poet, is renowned for getting at the heart of a young person’s everyday life. In these eleven stories, performed with spice and energy by young actors Stephanie Diaz and Miguel Gongora, Soto again scores. With a sensitivity and humor born from his own experiences while growing up in California’s Central Valley, the author brings to the surface issues such as success and failure, honesty and deceit, love and friendship. 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.
- Baseball in April and Other Stories
-
By Gary Soto
Read by Stephanie Diaz and Miguel Gongora
-
Release Date: 4/15/90
Formats: Digital Audy