BIBLIOGRAPHY

Soto, Gary. 1995. Canto familiar. Ill. by Annika Nelson. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0152000674

PLOT SUMMARY

Gary Soto has combined a look at the familiar in a book of poems that celebrate the familiar moments in lives, especially the lives of children. From poems about familiar foods, to a celebration of success in school and well-loved pets, Soto uses a combination of Spanish and English to depict the people and places that mean “home” to him. The woodcut illustrations by Nelson also celebrate the Hispanic culture with their bright colors and folkloric emphasis that is a celebration in color and style.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

Even in its title, Canto Familiar celebrates the familiar and the things that make readers think of home and comfort. Geared toward the Hispanic culture, the book of simple poems gives tribute to many aspects of the Hispanic way of life, from food to celebration of a beautiful spring day. Throughout the selection of poems, readers will find dialect and forms of address that are well-known to people from this culture and others who find themselves part of the tradition that makes this one of the enduring cultures in the United States today. From exclamations such as ¡Ay Dios! to the people who ask the girl with the broken watch ¿Qué hora es?, Soto’s attention to detail through language is exceptional.

In addition to dialect, readers will also notice familiar forms of address. Abuelo and Abuela are mentioned frequently along with Mami/Moma and Papi, and hermana and hermano. These forms of address are as familiar in song as they are in daily life for the Mexican American culture. Along with the forms of address, the Aztec culture is mentioned in “Sarape”, a poem about a blanket the colors of the Aztec rainbow which was handed down so often, no one is sure where it belonged originally.

Physical description plays a large part in Canto Familiar. Although much of the description is found in the illustrations by Annika Nelson, in “Papi’s Menudo”, readers will find a description of Papi—“red in his eyes and whiskers the color of iron filings standing up on a magnet”. The old men playing checkers under the grape arbor had faces that were “lined and dark as the earth at their feet”. These descriptive phrases, along with the colorful woodcut illustrations by Nelson provide an imaginative look at ordinary and familiar sights.

Although readers will find abundant Hispanic dialect and forms of address throughout Soto’s selections, perhaps the most noticeable cultural aspect of this collection are the references to food. From the first poem, “Papi’s Menudo” which discusses not only menudo but tortillas to dip in it, but tortillas which do not end up in their traditional round shape, but more like continents and countries in “Tortillas Like Africa”. Food is also celebrated in “Doing Dishes” where the main character complains that when it was someone else’s night to do the dishes there was “one pot and three dishes”, but because they had chicken mole, there were plates, forks knives, a wooden spoon, and a pot stained with sauce. In Soto’s book, as in the Hispanic American culture, food plays an important and vital part of daily life.  

The woodcut illustrations by Annika Nelson represent the familiar way of life also. From the bright colors of the clothing and furnishings to the predominantly dark, straight hair of the characters, the Hispanic American culture is celebrated in picture. The hairstyles are basically the same—mature women have straight hair parted in the middle, and younger girls have pigtails, ponytails, or no particular hairstyle. Men and boys both have straight hair, brown in color and parted either on the side or down the middle. Although the culture today has as many hairstyles as there are personalities, the basic celebration of the familiar life is seen in every illustration.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Booklist. A companion to Soto’s “Neighborhood Odes” (1992), this collection of simple free verse captures common childhood moments at home, at school, and in the street. Many of the experiences are Mexican American (”Spanish is seeing double” ), and occasional Spanish words are part of the easy, colloquial, short lines. The first-person voices are immediate, physical, and joyful, celebrating music, dancing, cats, friends, family.

School Library Journal. Who could imagine that such joyous rhythm could be found in the familiar moments of life, such as washing dishes or spotting a teacher in the market? In this companion volume to Neighborhood Odes (Harcourt, 1992), Soto not only imagines the musical beat, but also captures the energy and tranposes it into poetic songs. Imagery abounds, as in the hot iron that “snorts like a bull.” Nelson’s distinctive block prints bounce off white pages with vibrant magentas and bold blues outlined with thick black lines. The result is a harmony of words and pictures to be anticipated and savored.

CONNECTIONS

Gary Soto celebrates the familiar sights in the life of the Hispanic American culture. Poems in this book feature a celebration of food, dialect, forms of address and descriptive phrases. Students can write a poem about something familiar from the American culture (hot dogs and apple pie), or from a culture of their choosing.

Look for these other books of by Gary Soto:

Soto, Gary. Living up the street.  ISBN 9780440211709

Soto, Gary. Taking sides. ISBN 9780152046941

Soto, Gary. The afterlife. ISBN 9780152052201

Soto, Gary. Too many tamales. ISBN 9780698114128

Soto, Gary. Buried onions. ISBN 9780152062651