Baseball in April: List 2

by Gary Soto
This collection of short stories, which draws on the author's own childhood, focuses on Latino and Latina children growing up in California.

This list covers "Barbie," "The No-Guitar Blues," and "Seventh Grade."

Here are links to our lists for the short story collection: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
25 words 432 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. nestle
    move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position
    The day after Christmas, Veronica Solis and her baby sister, Yolanda, nestled together on the couch to watch the morning cartoons.
  2. bumble
    make a mess of, destroy or ruin
    Bumbling Inspector Gadget was in trouble again, unaware that the edge of the cliff was crumbling under his feet.
  3. imposter
    a person who makes deceitful pretenses
    “You ugly thing,” she snapped and threw the imposter against the wall. The doll lay on the floor, eyes open like the dead.
  4. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    “Oh, Rudy, you’re spoiling this girl,” Mrs. Solis chided.
  5. feign
    make believe with the intent to deceive
    Veronica’s mother, feigning surprise, lifted her eyes and said, “Oh, how wonderful! Oh, Rudy—and Donna.”
  6. preoccupied
    having excessive or compulsive concern with something
    Veronica pretended to look happy, but she was too preoccupied with her new doll.
  7. lull
    make calm or still
    She picked at a scab on her wrist and tried to lull herself to sleep with sad thoughts.
  8. prance
    move or step in a lively, spirited, or showy way
    That afternoon Fausto knew his mission in life: to play guitar in his own band; to sweat out his songs and prance around the stage; to make money and dress weird.
  9. perpetual
    uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
    Fausto repeated his story to her while staring at a perpetual clock with a bell-shaped glass, the kind his aunt got when she celebrated her twenty-fifth anniversary.
  10. deceitful
    marked by deliberate deceptiveness
    How could he have been so deceitful? The dog wasn’t lost. It was just having a fun Saturday walking around.
  11. secondhand
    previously used or owned by another
    At home, in the privacy of his room, he examined the twenty-dollar bill. He had never had so much money. It was probably enough to buy a secondhand guitar.
  12. eerie
    suggestive of the supernatural; mysterious
    Fausto ran a thumb down the strings, which vibrated in his throat and chest. It sounded beautiful, deep and eerie. A pumpkin smile widened on his face.
  13. resound
    ring or echo with noise
    Fausto strummed a chord on the guitarron, and the bass resounded in their chests.
  14. catechism
    an elementary book summarizing the principles of a religion
    Besides, Teresa, a girl he had liked since they were in catechism classes at Saint Theresa’s, was taking French, too.
  15. ferocity
    the property of being aggressive or forceful
    “I think it works,” Michael said. He scowled and let his upper lip quiver. His teeth showed along with the ferocity of his soul. “Belinda Reyes walked by a while ago and looked at me,” he said.
  16. tinny
    thin, metallic, and displeasing in sound
    A tinny, three-beat bell propelled students to their homerooms.
  17. propel
    give an incentive for action
    A tinny, three-beat bell propelled students to their homerooms.
  18. conviction
    an unshakable belief in something without need for proof
    He felt foolish, until out of the comer of his eye he saw a girl looking at him. Umm, he thought, maybe it does work. He scowled with greater conviction.
  19. portly
    fairly large
    Mr. Lucas, a portly man, waddled down the aisle, asking, “What is a noun?”
  20. bustle
    move or cause to move energetically or busily
    The small, triangle-shaped campus bustled with students talking about their new classes.
  21. populace
    people in general considered as a whole
    Mr. Bueller said that if the students studied hard, at the end of the year they could go to France and be understood by the populace.
  22. bluff
    deceive someone about your strength or intentions
    He tried to bluff his way out by making noises that sounded French.
  23. sliver
    a small thin sharp bit of wood, glass, or metal
    He bit his thumb until he tore off a sliver of skin.
  24. sheepishly
    in a manner showing embarrassment or shame
    He looked sheepishly at the teacher, who was erasing the board, then widened his eyes in terror at Teresa who stood in front of him.
  25. wisp
    a thin tuft, piece, or amount of something
    ‘‘Bonjour, ” Teresa said, leaving him outside her next class. She smiled and pushed wisps of hair from her face.
Created on Fri Nov 06 20:42:55 EST 2020 (updated Wed Nov 11 11:02:00 EST 2020)

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