My Little Car

by Gary Soto, Pamela Paparone (Illustrator)

Teresa was so excited when her grandpa gave her a fantastic little carrito for her birthday. Everyone admired it when she rode down the sidewalk and it won Best Car at the playground hands down. Over time, though, she stops taking care of it and it practically falls apart. But when it helps her escape from a neighborhood dog, she is reminded of how much she loves it. And her grandpa is just the person to help her fix it up. After all, he’s old, too, but he’s still fun to play with. A funny, touching story with zippy illustrations, this is a painless way to show kids that it’s important to take care of the things (and people) you love.

Genres: Picture Books, Transport, Childrens, Spanish Literature, Family, Cars

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 20, 2006

About the author

Gary Soto is the author of eleven poetry collections for adults, most notably New and Selected Poems, a 1995 finalist for both the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the National Book Award. His poems have appeared in many literary magazines, including Ploughshares, Michigan Quarterly, Poetry International, and Poetry, which has honored him with the Bess Hokin Prize and the Levinson Award and by featuring him in the interview series Poets in Person. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. For ITVS, he produced the film “The Pool Party,” which received the 1993 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Film Excellence. In 1997, because of his advocacy for reading, he was featured as NBC’s Person-of-the-Week. In 1999, he received the Literature Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, the Author-Illustrator Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association, and the PEN Center West Book Award for Petty Crimes. He divides his time between Berkeley, California and his hometown of Fresno.

Reviews

[Skylar Burris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent moral: be responsible for your stuff and take care of it. It seemed a bit stereotypical (with regard to Hispanics), and did not hold my car-loving son's interest.

[Scott Janson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for the mexican heritage. It shows a lot about the traditions. Also a good book for young girls.

[Tressa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an eye-pleasing book My Little Car (Mi Carrito) is. This is my son’s favorite book of the moment as it meets his current criteria: it’s colorful and it’s about a car.

Gary Soto’s My Little Car is the story of Teresa and the lowrider pedal car given to her as a birthday present by her Abuelito (grandfather). She lovingly takes care of her little car and enjoys driving around her neighborhood. She wins a trophy for her Bailelo skills (making her car dance) in a contest, outraces a dog and becomes the envy of the playground, all because of her special car.

But, alas, all things new must turn old, and Teresa eventually loses interest and becomes negligent. Her car is left out in the elements where it begins to rust, lose its flame stickers and become a target for the birds in the trees. It's even dented when Teresa’s father backs into it with his truck where it's carelessly parked in the driveway.

One day Teresa’s grandfather comes to visit and doesn’t even recognize the car. Teresa sadly admits “Es mi carrito.” Grandfather exclaims that the car looks as old and rundown as he. Teresa and her little sister Pumpkin rush to their grandfather’s defense, and Teresa is shamed into realizing that things should be cherished long after the new wears off, be they people or toys.

Pam Paparone’s illustrations bring the Chicano neighborhood to life, in the bright colors and décor of the houses and in the urban street scenes alive with the faces of its people.

My Little Car is an excellent introduction to the Mexican language and culture for young children.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grade/interest level: Primary (1st-3rd grade)
Reading level: Fountas and Pinnell, L
Genre: Realisting fiction, multicultural (Spanish words)

Main Characters: Teresa, Pumpkin, Grandpa
Setting: Teresa's home and surrounding neighborhood in an urban area (probably Los Angeles).
POV: from Teresa

This story is about a first-grader named Teresa. She got a toy car from her Grandpa. At first she was really excited about the car, but as time passed, she began to lose interest in the car. She would leave it out in the rain, would be careless about where she would leave the car, and generally showed a lack of care for the car. One day her grandpa came to visit her and noticed that her car was in really bad shape. He showed disappointment but had an important talk with her about caring for her things. Teresa and her Grandpa fixed the car back up and Teresa learned an important lesson: that she must care for the things she loves, or else they will get ruined.

I would use this text in my classroom to talk about responsibility and how to care for your personal belongings. The text is nice because it has some words in Spanish, so it is ideal to use with native Spanish-speakers because they can help with the words while it is being read aloud.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!!! It’s a gem! It’s such a beautiful feeling to be able to relate to characters and events in a story from one's upbringing. My favorite character in the story is Abuelito. He reminds me of my father.

I’m Latina. This definitely is NOT a book with stereotypes instead, it IS a book with many relatable characters and landscapes. To me it is extremely significant that the author is Latino with a similar background because, the story was derived from Gary Soto’s childhood experiences. Also, the scenes are very much like where I grew up, in a Latino vibrant neighborhood.

Most importantly, this story is lighthearted with great morals. It’s a reminder to ALL kids to share, be grateful, and treat their belongings with great value. This story’s message especially resonates with those whose parents work hard to save up. Many of those parents, like my own, who want to be able to gift their kids with what they were unable to receive as children themselves.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a “find” at the library, an older story by Gary Soto about Teresa, a first grader, whose mother says she’s too young for a bike, but she’s finally happy when her grandfather sends her a lowrider car for her birthday. She loves the attention when she rides around the neighborhood, but soon forgets about it. It is left out in the rain, a bird poops on it, and left in the driveway means her father backs into it. She thinks it’s ruined until grandfather comes for a visit and helps fix the car again. I love the inclusion of Spanish words in the story, and the way the story will support a discussion of taking responsibility for one’s things. Paparone’s illustrations are colorful and filled with family and neighborhood kids.

[Kristin Carney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like this book. For me it was hard to understand at times because I don't speak Spanish so some words I had to look up. Also the style of the book went with the latino style. The book was talking about shining the car chromes. I can tell you when I was little I didn't know what chromes were. Also every character in the book had dark hair and most latino have dark hair. The colors that the illustrator used also helps with the culture of the character. I just think overall this book is well represented in its culture. For me since I'm not that educated in it, it was hard for me in some parts to understand.

[Veronica]

I'm working on creating a booklist for my local public library. This book was one in consideration for this list.

This is going on my list. Though it doesn't cover manners per se, it does cover the idea of a child being responsible for their belongings. I enjoyed the cultural turn of the picture book as well, depicting a barrio quite well.

Definitely good for storytimes and...actually, I can't think of a program it wouldn't work well with. Love Gary Soto.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute! The story is about a little girl who is given a toy lowrider when she outgrows her trike. She loves the little car and drives it all over her neighborhood, but then starts to neglect it. Her grandpa comes and helps her to fix it back up (including some chile headlights), and she goes off again...low and slow. It's a simple, but really cute story. I liked the illustrations and the way Soto easily incorporates the Spanish in with the English. It doesn't feel forced at all! Recommended!

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book on so many levels and so did my 2.5 year old daughter. I even took this book to school and shared it with a kindergarten class too, and they seemed to like it. The illustrations are great. I love the Spanish words. Just an awesome book. I had to buy myself a copy.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teresa receives a toy lowrider from her grandfather, but doesn't take care of her beautiful gift. I love that it's a girl getting the low rider, and that the cultural details are present and important but not a lesson being crammed down the reader's throat.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teresa is thrilled with the gift of a lowrider from her Grandpa as she was sick of the trike. It is shiny and draws attention until she does not take care of the lowrider. Later her Grandpa comes to visit and sees the disrepair of the lowerider and they make it even better working together.

[ALC Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started off with some stereotypes and some vocabulary like ranfla and muchacha, and it seemed predictable. The length of pages in this story surprised me-I expected it to be shorter. The dialogue with her grandpa at the end is really endearing.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A kids book highlighting the proper care and feeding of a toy lowrider. Suuuuuuweeet!

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another total favorite. Wonderful pictures and well-told. The only thing was the slight didactic stance, which I try to avoid but is totally rampant in children's books.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute story by award winning author Gary Soto.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story had an overly obvious moral, and sometimes the text bordered on creepy. And I most definitely did not love the illustrations.

[Danell Burney]

Great book K-2!

[Hannah]

cute

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a fun story. I think it would be a nice read aloud.

[Isaac Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teresa was given her first lowrider from her grandfather. It was green with flames on it. She was driving it around and everyone loved it. But, as time went on she left her car out in the rain and left it out and birds pooped on it. She even left her car behind her dads car and he bumped into it. The steering wheel started to wobble and the stickers started to come off the car. Her grandpa started to help her fix it up. I liked this book. It shows that you need to take care of your things in order for it to look nice. I would put this in my class to help students realize they need to take care of their belongings so they can stay in nice condition.

[Karina Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the story and meaning of this book.

[Dora · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 2007 Americas Commended Title.

This story is about Teresa and her new 'mini' low rider. You know how as a child you got a Barbie jeep to drive, well Teresa has a low rider. Awesome! Teresa adores her new low rider but starts to 'forget' the typical car maintenance, like washing it, painting, etc. Grandpa Benny comes to the rescue in making her old car look like new! A great story about responsibility. Recommended for grades K-3.

[jessica wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teresa gets a lowrider from her Abuelito. How cool is that? It's Gary Soto, what more can I say?