Module 5 Chato's Kitchen

Bibliographic Citation

Soto, G. (1995). Chato's kitchen. New York:  G. P. Putman's Sons.

Summary

Chato the cat and his best friend decide to fix dinner for the new neighbors.  A family of five mice have moved in next door, and he wants to eat them.  He cooks all kinds of mexican food for them.  The mice want to bring along one of their friends, who turns out to be a dog.  Chato ends up not being able to eat the mice after all and they all enjoy his meal of mexican food.

Impressions

This book was filled with lots of spanish vocabulary for young ESL readers to understand from their language.  It is also about moving to a new home, meeting new firends, and getting along with all kinds.  The two cats are depicted as cool indivduals that hispanic boys could easily identify with.

Suggestion For Use in a Library

1.  Good to read around Cinco de Mayo or another hispanic holiday or during hispanic month.

2.  Practice some spanish vocabulary

3.  Survey of favorite mexican food that the animals had.

Reviews

K-Gr. 2. In this Pura Belpré Illustrator Medal winner, Chato and his friend Novio Boy plan a dinner for the new mice next door, hoping that their neighbors will become one of the courses. But the mice bring a surprise guest named Chorizo, a truly low-riding dachshund. This humorous story is perfect for sharing and features Guevara's lively, expressive illustrations. Also see the sequel, Chato and the Party Animals (Putnam, 2000), another Pura Belpré Illustrator Medal winner.

Gonzalez, L. (2009). Chato's kitchen. Book Links, 18(3), 36. 

K-Gr. 4. Chato and his best friend are the coolest cats in the barrio of East Los Angeles. When a family of five fat mice moves in next door to Chato, he invites them for dinner-but he secretly plans for them to be dinner. All day, the two cats labor in Chato's kitchen preparing a feast to eat with the mice; however, plans change when the mouse family arrives, escorted by an unexpected guest. Spanish words peppered throughout the text add culturally authentic flavor to this mouth-watering comedy.

 Bedford, A.,  & Cuellar, R. (2006). Chato's kitchen. Book Links, 15(3), 26. 

Gr. 3-6. Soto captures the Latino flavor of Hast L.A. through the voice of Chato, a cat with barrio flare. When a family of mice moves in next door, Chato invites them for dinner with hunger pangs, not hospitality, in mind. The humorous storytelling and clever dialogue enhance this situation comedy, marked by Guevara's zany illustrations.

 Halls, K.  (2003). Chato's kitchen.  Book Links, 12(5), 54. 

Preschool-Gr. 3. Visions of a three-course dinner dance in the head of Chato, a streetwise cat, when he invites his new neighbors (a family of mice) to his home. Guevara's detailed, dark-lined city scenes add a razor-sharp edge to Soto's attitude-saturated text. Young children will be delighted to see the little mice outsmart their new feline friend at a meal full of surprises.

Carger. C.,  (2002). Chato's kitchen. Book Links, 12(3), 38. 

Gary Soto's use of Spanish embedded within an English rendition provides a supportive context for understanding both Spanish terms and the story in Chato's Kitchen (P-M). Chato, a very "hip" cat, is overjoyed that a family of mice have moved in next door, and he invites them for dinner hoping, of course, they will become the main course. The mice, however, have their own surprise for Chato and arrive for dinner on the back of their friendly dog, Chorizo, thereby limiting the menu to cheese quesadillas brought by the mice and side dishes prepared by Chato and his friend, Novio boy. A glossary of Spanish terms and Chato's menu precede the story. Susan Guevara employs various perspectives in her paintings to accentuate the size differences between the cats and mice and the tensions of the evening.

Freeman, E., Lehman, B., & Scharer, P. (1997). Chato's kitchen. The Reading Teacher, 50(5), 426.