The tiny incidents of everyday life reveal enormous themes in this one-of-a-kind collection of short stories: love and friendship, youth and maturation, success and failure. Poet Gary Soto brings to life the pleasures and sufferings of young people everywhere by drawing on his personal experiences growing up in California's Central Valley. In "Sugar Beets," a 14-year-old boy goes to great lengths to win the heart of a girl more interested in cars than boys. Baseball remains popular in April even though there are no games to watch. This is because early spring training sports such as baseball, football, and basketball help determine which teams will be good enough to play for a championship. As well, these games provide much-needed exercise for the players' muscles and minds while they wait for the regular season to begin. In addition to being a fun way to pass the time, baseball has profound significance in America. The sport was so important during its early years that it prevented the country from warring with each other. Since professional baseball began in 1876, only two seasons have ended in violence: One in 1898 and another in 1962. Both of these incidents involved players from the same team acting out against each other; there were no deaths or injuries as a result of either fight. The peaceful nature of baseball has been compared to that of a game played between nations.