The Pool Party
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Rudy Herrera is surprised and excited when he gets an invitation to a pool party. It's from Tiffany Perez, the richest and most popular girl in school.
Rudy's grandmother, "El Shorty," thinks he is going off to shoot pool. His sister, Estela, warns him not to make a fool of himself, or worse, embarass her. Rudy's father teaches him how to make small talk and tells him Tiffany will like him because he's a real person, not a phony.
All Rudy cares about is what to wear, what kinds of dives to do, and what to bring Tiffany. When the big day arrives, Rudy is in high spirits. Will he make a big splash at the pool party?
From Grandfather "El Shorty" to Little Rudy, the Herreras are a family who not only live and work together, but love and enjoy one another. Gary Soto, poet and storyteller, gives young readers a story of simple pleasures, simply told and simply wonderful.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As he did in The Skirt , Soto again portrays a working-class Mexican American family. When Rudy Herrera is invited to a pool party by a wealthy classmate, he muses about what it will be like and tries to come up with an appropriate gift for his hostess. Rudy's relatives offer plenty of advice on how to make small talk and his father stresses that Rudy be proud of his heritage and his family--no matter what. In the days leading up to the big event Rudy and his friend Alex get into a few scrapes, but the pool toy that they finally find ends up being the hit of the party. This time out Soto delivers a quick read, liberally flavored with slapstick humor and sprinkled with a few stereotypical situations (the boys hitch a ride with two guys who have stolen a car, for example). 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. Casilla's black-and-white pencil drawings allow for some warm facial expressions, but are otherwise fairly static and do not elaborate much on the text. Ages 7-10.
