The Skirt by Gary Soto

Soto, Gary. 1992. THE SKIRT. Ill. by Velasquez Eric. New York: Delacorte Press.
ISBN-10: 0440409241



PLOT SUMMARY
Miata Ramirez has a problem; she loses things. One Friday afternoon she accidentally leaves her mothers Ballet folklorico skirt on the bus. Not only does Miata need the skirt to dance in on Sunday but, her mom is always reminding her not to loose things. Unable to tell her family about the missing skirt she must think of a way to get it back. In order to get the skirt off the bus Miata enlist the help of her friend Ana. Hoping to not get caught the girls sneak into the bus yard in search of the skirt. To their surprise they see Miata’s father working on one of the buses. After barely making their escape with the skirt Miata’s mother surprises her with a gift. The new skirt Miata is given is beautiful but, she feels a loyalty to her mother and the skirt and wears both the new and old skirt together to honor her mother.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Gary Soto has done an excellent job of highlighting the cultural of a Mexican American family as well as the daily issues present in all families. Soto has touched on several cultural markers necessary to make a story culturally accurate. One marker is Miata’s family. The family is extremely close and they work hard. Miata’s father often takes extra jobs to help support the family. Another marker is Soto’s description of food. “At dinner they had steak, frijoles, and papas fritas.” Another example of culturally authentic food would be breakfast food of chorizo con huevos. A final marker is celebration of Ballet folklorico. The group performs traditional Mexican folk dances wearing beautiful colorful skirts. All of these markers help to make this book a good example of life in a Mexican American home.

The pencil drawn illustrations by Eric Velasquez help to give the reader a closer look at the characters in the book. The use of black and white illustrations is a good choice. They do not draw the reader’s attention away from the text which is the most important element in a chapter book.

Overall, this book would be an excellent read aloud and great book for the discussion of families and cultural differences.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
From Publishers Weekly
Described by PW as a "spunky and imaginative" heroine, Miata comes up with a clever plan to retrieve her beloved folklorico dance skirt.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
This is a light, engaging narrative that successfully combines information on Hispanic culture with familiar and recognizable childhood themes. The San Joaquin Valley, California, setting is realistically drawn, and the closeness of Miata's family is reassuring.

Reviews accessed at:
http://www.amazon.com/Skirt-Gary-Soto/dp/0440409241


CONNECTIONS

Additional books by Gary Soto that would be great for an author study.
Chato and the Party Animals ISBN-10: 0142400327
Too Many Tamales ISBN-10: 0698114124
Baseball in April and Other Stories ISBN-10: 0152025677