Gary Soto has 10 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 7 narrators. The most-rated is Baseball in April.
Chato and the Party Animals
Summary
Chato decides to throw a birthday party - a 'pachanga' - for his best friend, Novio boy and everyone is invited, including you!
©2004 Putnam (P)2003 Weston Woods
Accidental Love
Summary
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?
©2013 Gary Soto (P)2013 AudioGO
Chato's Kitchen
Summary
Chato can't believe his luck. Not only is he the coolest low-riding cat in East L.A., but his brand-new neighbors are the plumpest, juiciest, tastiest-looking family of mice to move into the barrio in a long time. So Chato and his best friend, Novio Boy, get out the pots and pans, the tortillas and the beans - everything you'd need for a welcoming feast, except for the main dish, and the guests of honor. Of course, in Chato's mind they are one and the same thing. But the mice are bringing a surprise guest of their own, who may be more than a cool cat can swallow.
©1995 Gary Soto (P)2018 Listening Library
Too Many Tamales
Summary
Everyone is coming for Christmas dinner at Maria's house. She and her mother prepare by kneading the "masa" to make tamales. When her mother takes off her ring, maria tries it on - and is beside herself when, hours later, she thinks it has been kneaded into the tamales.
©1993 Putnam (P)2002 Weston Woods
Jesse
Summary
To get away from his chaotic, often violent parents, 17-year-old Jesse has moved into an apartment with his brother. They are both taking community college courses in Fresno. But to pay for them, they must take whatever jobs they can find, even backbreaking field work. The path to a good education isn't going to be an easy one for these two young Mexican-Americans. As Jesse absorbs information in his classes, he learns harsher lessons from the people around him. Watching them and the choices they make, Jesse begins to understand the limits of his world. Gary Soto, a poet and novelist, has won prizes and awards for his work. Filled with wry humor and realism, Jesse reflects Soto's own experiences growing up in California. Robert Ramirez' lightly accented voice captures the thoughts and emotions of a young man on the threshold of an uncertain adulthood.
©1994 Gary Soto (P)1999 Recorded Books, LLC
The Afterlife
Summary
Adept at portraying Latino teenage culture, author Gary Soto has won many honors, including an ALA Best Book Award for his young adult novels. After an East Fresno student is murdered, his mind leaves his body. Now he must get used to being an invisible spirit, one who watches his friends and family deal with his death.
©2003 Gary Soto (P)2005 Recorded Books, LLC
Buried Onions
Summary
"You can pray and sometimes God listens," says 19-year-old Eddie. "Other times he's far away in India or Africa or maybe close to home in Fresno, his body sprawled on the floor, glass all around because of a drive-by." All Eddie wants is to find a way out of the dangerous life he's living, where his friends are lost in a world of drugs and violence. Even his aunt wants to give him a gun so he can avenge the death of her son. But no matter how hard he works, Eddie can't seem to pull himself away from the sweltering sadness of the city. It's as if giant onions had been buried beneath him, Eddie thinks, releasing shimmering vapors off the black asphalt all around. Gary Soto, the award-winning author of Jesse, presents a tough, relentless look at a life spiraling out of control. Narrator Robert Ramirez voices all the grim failure of the American dream.
©1997 Gary Soto (P)2001 Recorded Books, LLC
Taking Sides
Summary
Eighth-grader Linc Mendoza has moved from a dusty San Francisco barrio to a well-groomed suburb and a new junior high school. Suddenly he's in the minority, a Mexican-American in a mostly white school. The basketball coach is tough on him. Classes are even tougher. And his best friend is back in the old neighborhood. To make things worse, the basketball team is scheduled to play against Linc's old school in a league game. How can Linc play his best when he's shooting against his former teammates? To find an answer, Linc will need to sort through a maze of emotions and some tricky moves on the court. It is a journey that will teach him much about choices and change. Narrator Robert Ramirez's tones capture each of Linc's frustrations and joys. This is a gripping story by an award-winning author noted for realistic tales of Mexican-American life and culture.
©1991 Gary Soto (P)1999 Recorded Books, LLC
Pacific Crossing
Summary
Lincoln is happy to be going to Japan as a martial arts exchange student. So is Tony, his barrio brother from San Francisco. They're excited about living in a dojo, or school for martial arts, and practicing the art of kempo. When Lincoln arrives in Japan, he is surprised to find that the dojo is a vacant lot. He will be living on a small farm with the Ono family, whose mother reminds him of his own. The father likes to play practical jokes, and the son, Mitsuo, likes baseball. This strange country holds many surprises for Lincoln as he progresses through kempo and grows to love the Onos as his Japanese family. The expert narration by Robert Ramirez gives authenticity to this young Mexican-American boy's coming of age story. Listeners will enjoy being there when Lincoln realizes that friendship transcends culture and nationality.
©1992 Gary Soto (P)1999 Recorded Books, LLC
Baseball in April
Summary
In these 11 stories, Gary Soto scores again. 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.
©2000 Gary Soto (P)2000 Audio Bookshelf