Gary Soto was born in Fresno, California in 1952 to Mexican American parents. His parents, grandparents worked as laborers in various agricultural jobs such as picking oranges or cotton for very little pay. Gary Soto’s father died when he was only 5 years old, causing his family financial instability and led them to moving to a rough neighborhood. His mom, grandparents, and later his siblings and himself also had to pick up any jobs they could to help out. Unfortunately, this meant that he had little time for school and his grades suffered. Gary also recalled that books were not a part of his home life as they did not buy or want them, but he sought out books from his school library to read where he discovered his love for classic literature and poetry. 

After graduating high school, Soto attended Fresno City College and then California State University, Fresno where he majored in English. He graduated with his Bachelor’s in 1974 and received a Masters in Fine Art for poetry writing at the University of Irvine in 1976. Soto began his writing career by writing poetry, publishing poems for prizes and later publishing a book of collected poems, The Elements of San Joaquin and later another book that was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize called, The Tale of Sunlight. He wrote about being a Mexican American in central California and was one of the first Mexicans to even be considered for a Pulitzer. 

While his career as an poet and autobiographical works was successful, Soto had an epiphany after realizing that generations of school children had not read a book that reflected their culture. Soto wanted to create children’s books that featured Mexican American culture and language so that children saw themselves in a book. 

Today, Soto has published over thirty books for children and young adults that feature various aspects of Mexican American culture and have Mexican main characters. Too Many Tamales is highly regarded and considered a modern classic and his book Jesse won the Tomas Rivera award for outstanding children’s literature that portrays Latino culture. While it seems as though Gary Soto has slowed down on writing books, Puppy Love is expected to release in June of 2023.

Andrew Carnegie Medal 

1993 for film The Pool Party

1999- Literature Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation 

Tomás Rivera Award

• 1996 for Chato's Kitchen

Pura Belpré Honor

• 1996 for Baseball in April, and Other Stories