This is a collection of 20 stories that focus specifically on the experience of growing up Chicana/o. A foreword by Rudolfo Anaya provides background on the development of Chicano literature. The stories are presented in four sections that explore the themes of heritage and actual and metaphorical boundaries, the importance of grandparents and other family members in Chicano consciousness, educational experiences in school and community, and rites of passage. Each entry includes an author profile that comments on the influence of childhood experiences on the writer. Stories and excerpts are "The Ruins" (Patricia Preciado Martin); "The Iguana Killer" (Alberto Alvaro Rios); "Dona Tona of Nineteenth Street" (Louie The Foot Gonzalez); "Juana Ines" (Alicia Gaspar de Alba); "Abuela" (Rosa Elena Yzquierdo); "Nubes" (from "Nambe--Year One") (Orlando Romero); "The Horned Toad" (Gerald Haslam); "The Moths" (Helena Maria Viramontes); "The Scholarship Jacket" (Marta Salinas); "The Circuit" (Francisco Jimenez); "Concha" (Mary Helen Ponce); "Eleven" (Sandra Cisneros); excerpt from "Pocho" (Jose Antonio Villareal); "Sister Katherine" (David Nava Monreal); "Una Edad Muy Tierna, M'ija" (Thelma Reyna); "Salomon's Story" (from "Tortuga") (Rudolfo Anaya); prologue for "The Comstock Journals" (or "Sotol City Blues") (Olivia Castellano); "The Bike" (from "A Summer Life") (Gary Soto); "The Castle" (Ron Arias); and "The McCoy Hotel" (Denise Chavez). (SV)