Gary Soto was born in 1952 in Fresno, California. His works reflects his experience as a third-generation Mexican-American raised in a working-class family; he has been admired for addressing personal issues as well as universal issues of social concern. The first Mexican-American writer to be nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, Soto has won many awards for his poetry, essays, and children's books, including such works as Baseball in April and Other Stories, Jesse, and Neighborhood Odes.