A Fire in My Hands: Revised and Expanded Edition

by Gary Soto

Overview

Few writers capture the everyday moments of life like Gary Soto. In direct and vivid poems, he draws from his own youth in California's Central Valley to portray the joys and sorrows of young people. His writing focuses on Latino characters, yet speaks to readers of all ethnicities.     Acclaimed by educators since its original publication in 1998, A Fire in My Hands has been revised and expanded in this new edition. Old and new fans of Soto's work will welcome the return of his compelling poems. One of the poems in this collection, "Oranges," is a Common Core State Standards Exemplar (Grades 6-8, Poetry).
Includes an introduction and an interview with the author.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544104822
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/22/2013
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	1,116,900
Product dimensions:	4.80(w) x 6.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Gary Soto's first book for young readers, Baseball in April and Other Stories, won the California Library Association's Beatty Award and was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. He has since published many novels, short stories, plays, and poetry collections for adults and young people. He lives in Berkeley, California. Visit his website at garysoto.com.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"These simple, free-verse selections skillfully capture that which is commonplace and transforms it into something mesmerizing and lovely. . . . will delight creative-writing teachers who are looking for a book that demonstrates the genesis of a poem as well as the compelling universality of the human experience."—SLJ

Editorial Reviews

"These simple, free-verse selections skillfully capture that which is commonplace and transforms it into something mesmerizing and lovely. . . . will delight creative-writing teachers who are looking for a book that demonstrates the genesis of a poem as well as the compelling universality of the human experience."—SLJ —

From the Publisher

Gr 6-10-These simple, free-verse selections skillfully capture that which is commonplace and transforms it into something mesmerizing and lovely. A first date, the embarrassment of belching root beer out of one's nose, the joy and the intricacies of the proper way to eat Mexican food, and a lost dog are just a few of the topics that Soto addresses. The 31 poems are delightful in themselves, but the poet also adds the brief reminiscence of the event or feeling that prompted him to write each one. Some are autobiographical, but more of them are only vaguely inspired by an actual event. Like Lori Carlson's Cool Salsa (Holt, 1994), these selections depict Latino characters but will resonate with readers of all ethnicities. This revised and expanded edition will delight creative-writing teachers who are looking for a book that demonstrates the genesis of a poem as well as the compelling universality of the human experience.-Heather M. Lisowski, Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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