Twenty-one poems reflect pleasures, loves, joys, regrets and fears experienced growing up in a Chicano neighborhood in California. The poet hones in on the small details of ordinary places (the park, the library) and ordinary things (a sprinkler, Pablo's tennis shoes) with such extraordinary clarity of vision that each ode packs an emotional punch, taking the reader by surprise. The poems are accompanied by striking black-and-white illustrations. (Age 8 and older)