The Pool Party by Gary Soto

Bibliography
Soto, Gary. 1993. The Pool Party. New York: Delacorte Press.

Illustrator: Robert Casilla
ISBN: 0-385-30890-6

Summary
The hard-working, close-knit Herrera family, has a son named Rudy. Rudy is invited to a rich girl's pool party. Rudy and his friend, Alex, find an inner tube for Rudy to take to the pool party, get into a little mischief, too. Rudy's family gives Rudy pointers on how to behave at the pool party. Rudy, on his best behavior, enjoys himself at the party.

Critical Analysis
Author Gary Soto is known for writing stories with Mexican American characters. The Pool Party, is mainly about Rudy Herrera. The minor characters are the Herrera family: grandfather, mother, father, Rudy's sister Estela, and Rudy's best friend, Alex. Soto does a good job establishing a strong family tie among the family members, where they help each other out. Estela has a typical attitude about a younger brother and her family. Rudy and Alex are typical friends getting into mischief and helping each other out.

There are Hispanic American cultural markers in the typical Hispanic names Soto uses, such as Estela and Herrera for Spanish speaking characters while using standard Euro-American names for non-Hispanic characters, such as Mindy and Tiffany. There is a possibility that Rudy and Alex's names are shortened forms of the Spanish names, Rudolfo and Alejandro. Also, grandfather's nickname is El Shorty. The word "El" is a grammar article in the Spanish language.

Another Hispanic American marker found in the story is the use of untranslated Spanish in his text, intermingling it throughout the story (interlingual text.) The basic Spanish in the story can either be deciphered by a non-Spanish speaking reader with contextual clues or the meanings may be omitted as it does not change the plot of the story immensely. The Spanish words do lend themselves to making the Hispanic American story more realistic.

The food the Herrera family eats are also Hispanic American cultural markers. For example, at the end of the story, the family sits down for a meal. Mother serves enchiladas, fideo, and frijoles. Each one of these dishes are traditional Mexican dishes.

There are other possible cultural markers in the story, yet not necessarily Hispanic American markers. For example, Rudy is unsure of the meaning of pool party. The term could be confusing to any English as a Second Language child. On the other hand, the term could be confusing to any child not familiar with a backyard swimming pool.

Soto introduces a thought-provoking scene near the end of the story. Rudy encounters a "Mexican American" boy putting sunscreen on his skin. Rudy is perplexed that the boy is "ashamed of his skin color." Many dark-skinned children can relate to either one of these characters, whether they do not want to be darker or not be concerned with the darkness of their skin. It is refreshing to have a character, like Rudy, being confused by the boy's actions. Children can make an inference from this scene that there is nothing wrong with dark-skin.

Additionally, there are a few illustrations in this story that could be cultural markers. The illustrator, Robert Casilla, drew the picture in black and white. Since the illustrations are in black and white, there is no obvious skin color, but the hair is apparently dark and straight. The shape of the faces and features, along with the hair feature support the physical traits of Hispanic Americans from Mexico.

Not extremely exciting, The Pool Party is an easy read, with a simple plot, perfect for beginning chapter book readers. There is a universal tone to Soto's story, where many children, including children not completely familiar with the English language, can easily relate to Rudy.

Please Note: Gary Soto is known for writing stories about Mexican American characters. To be consistent with terms used in class, I have used the term Hispanic American instead of narrowing it to Mexican American.

Review Excerpts
Publisher's Weekly reports, "This time out Soto delivers a quick read, liberally flavored with slapstick humor and sprinkled with a few stereotypical situations....The novel, however, lacks the flashes of emotional intensity found in the author's other works. Nonetheless, Rudy's eccentric grandfather, self-conscious teenage sister and other colorful characters, along with snippets of Spanish, lend authenticity to this breezy slice of Hispanic life."

School Library Journal announces, "A few elements make this story special: the poetic perfection Soto exhibits both in description and in authentic dialogue and the immersion of readers into the bosom of a loving, hard-working Mexican-American family."

Review excerpts obtained from http://www.amazon.com/

Connections
Other books with Hispanic American main characters:
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
Ghost Fever = Mal de Fantasma by Joe Hayes
Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora

Other stories by Gary Soto:
Marisol
Baseball in April and other Stories
My Little Car
Petty Crimes
Chato's Kitchen
Off and Running
Buried Onions
Boys at Work
The Cat's Meow
Summer on Wheels
Crazy Weekend