Soto, Gary. The Skirt. Ill. By Eric Velasquez. New York:
Delacorte Press, 1992. ISBN: 0-385-30665-2
SUMMARY
Miata always
loses or forgets things: She has lost lunch money, homework, and once she even
lost her shoes! This time, though, she has forgotten her mother’s precious and
beautiful folklórico skirt on the
school bus. To make matters worse, it happened on a Friday afternoon, and she
must wear the skirt Sunday for a dance performance! Afraid and ashamed, instead
of telling her mother and father, she turns to her friend, Ana, to come up with
a way to get the skirt from the bus before Sunday’s performance. Will Ana and
Miata be able to get the skirt without getting caught?
ANALYSIS
Gary Soto writes a story about a young girl’s adventure to retrieve her mother’s folklórico skirt before anyone realizes
it is missing. The Skirt offers a
simple plot and conflict, the events remain uncomplicated as his young
protagonist, Miata Ramirez, talks her friend, Ana, into helping her get the
skirt from a locked up school bus in the school’s bus yard.
Soto provides a background history about the Ramirez family in the story: Miata and
her family moved from the hectic life of Los Angeles to Sanger, a small town in
the San Joaquin Valley. Her father works hard as a mechanic, and his longing to
move away from the city to a simpler life in the country, similar to the country
life he had in Mexico, motivates him to convince his family to move. Miata was worried she would not be happy
there, but soon makes good friends and begins to enjoy their new home. As the family settles into their new lives,
Miata joins a folklórico dance troupe
and for months has practiced the dance.
Soto portrays
the family’s Mexican cultural heritage using authentic descriptions and
language throughout the story as cultural markers. Miata’s mother often uses
Mexican phrases when she speaks to Miata. For example, when Miata arrives home
from school that disastrous Friday afternoon when she forgot the skirt on the
bus, her mother says, “İAye, Dios!...You
scared me prieta.” Soto includes other Spanish words and phrases throughout
the book. Although Miata is not from
Mexico, she is bilingual and will speak to other characters in the book in
Spanish. For example, when she calls Ana’s house, she speaks to Ana’s
grandmother in Spanish.
Miata’s father works hard to provide for his
family, but when Soto describes the family vehicle, the reader understands Miata’s
family does not have money for extras. The truck, “..was a ’68 Chevy with
windows that rattled…Three red wires dangled from the broken radio.” This leads
to helping the reader understand the importance of the skirt: Not only is it
special because it belonged to Miata’s mother when she was a young girl, it is
also important because it is the only skirt the family can provide to Miata for
her to wear for the performance. Miata knows it would humiliate her family if she were to dance without the traditional costume, and this knowledge makes her more determined to get it from the bus.
In addition
to the story, Eric Velasquez’s pencil drawings depict Miata as a young girl
with dark, thick, straight hair and Mexican facial features.
An illustration of the family while they are eating dinner shows a picture over
the table with a theme that suggests Aztec artwork. The final illustration reveals
Miata at Sunday’s performance dancing in her folklórico dress, with her proud family in the background smiling
and calling to her.
Soto
concludes the story with a pleasant ending that includes a nice surprise for
Miata. The story appeals to a younger reader, perhaps third and fourth grade
level, because of its simple plot and conflict. In addition to this, Soto
provides an entrance into the warm world of a young Mexican-American family whose
close-knit relationships and respect for each other can be felt throughout the
story.
AWARDS/REVIEWS
“Soto shows a mainstream audience that the
lives of middle-class Hispanics resemble their own.” Kirkus Reviews, October 1992
“This is light, easy reading, the dialogue
natural and the Mexican-American cultural setting unaffected. Miata’s family
and friends are typical without becoming stereotypical, offering readers a cast
and situation with which to identify, whatever their own ethnic origins.” Betsy
Hearne, The Bulletin of the Center for
Childrens Books, October 1992
CONNECTIONS
Too
Many Tamales, Gary Soto
Baseball
in April, Gary Soto
I
Love Saturdays y domingos, by Alma Flor Ada
In the classroom:
Have students research the history of the folklórico dance. Show them a video of the dance seen in the following link:
PERSONAL
RESPONSE
I have not
read a lower reading level chapter book in quite some time, so was at first
surprised at the simplicity of the plot of this book. However, I enjoyed
reading about the Ramirez family. The father is my favorite character in
the book. He works hard, his family respects him, and he respects them as well.
He is happy with the good things in his life – and I think that is why I
admired him the most of all the book’s characters.
The Skirt. Cover illustration. Internet
on-line. September 28, 2013 from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gary-soto/the-skirt/
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