Chato's Kitchen

Product Description: Chato, the coolest cat in el barrio, loves to party — but not his best buddy, Novio Boy. Birthday parties always make him blue. “I’m from the pound,” he tells Chato. “I don’t know when I was born.” So Chato plans the coolest surprise party for Novio Boy, inviting all of el barrio, and cooking up a storm. But he forgets the most important thing — inviting Novio Boy! An entertaining sequel to Chato’s Kitchen.

“After winning a sweepstakes cruise for two, Chato invites his best friend, Novio Boy, along. The two “home cats” find themselves the only felines on a dog-oriented cruise, and the partying canines keep the cats up all night. Then all the pooches become ill, the radio breaks, and the captain sends Chato and Novio Boy out in a small boat to find help… Most noteworthy are Guevara’s brilliantly colored paintings, as winsome as ever, and the humorous black-and-white comic-strip insets that extend the fun.” — Booklist

Product Description: In thirteen stories full of wit and energy, Gary Soto illuminates the ordinary lives of young people. Meet Angel, who would rather fork over twenty bucks than have photos of his naked body plastered all over school; Philip, who discovers he has a “mechanical mind,” whatever that means; Estela, known as Stinger, who rules José’s heart and the racquetball court; and many other kids, all of them with problems as big as only a preteen can make them.

“The Hispanic neighborhood in Soto’s 21 poems is brought sharply into focus by the care with which he records images of everyday life: the music of an ice cream vendor’s truck, the top of a refrigerator where old bread lies in plastic, dust released into the air when a boy strums a guitar…Diaz’s woodcuts complement the poems perfectly: the silhouettes are fanciful and dynamic but do not draw attention from the words on the page.” — Publishers Weekly

Product Description: In Japan for the summer to practice the martial art of kempo, Lincoln Mendoza sometimes feels like little more than a brown boy in a white gi. Yet with the help of his Japanese brother, Mitsuo, Lincoln sees that people everywhere, whether friend or kempo opponent, share passions much like his own — for baseball, family traditions, and new friendships.

“In this sharply honed collection of stories, Mexican American children on the brink of adolescence are testing the waters, trying to find their place in a world ruled by gangs and “marked with graffiti, boom boxes, lean dogs behind fences…” Some characters (La Güera, a shoplifter, and Mario, a scam artist) are already on their way to becoming juvenile delinquents. Others have chosen a straighter path. Most, however, are caught somewhere in the middle…With a rare mix of compassion and irony, Soto (Buried Onions) crystallizes moments signifying the loss of innocence.” — Publishers Weekly

“Soto takes readers to a Mexican American nuptial, and young Maya, the flower girl, is the lens through which the action is seen…Created with Sculpy clay, acrylic paints, wood, ribbons, and flowers, the art is displayed in large boxes set against pages covered with lace. The doll-like members of the wedding are exaggerated just enough to be amusing; at times, just a body part or two are highlighted, as when Maya’s feet are shown on top of her father’s while they dance.” — Booklist

Product Description: Lincoln Mendoza is back and he is in a jam when his basketball team at his new school — where the students are rich and mostly white — faces his old team from the barrio on the boards. How can he play his best against his friends? No matter who wins, it looks like it will be lose-lose for Lincoln.

“Miata Ramirez has a problem that will strike a chord with many children: she forgets things. This particular Friday afternoon, she has left her folklórico skirt on the school bus, and she is supposed to dance in it on Sunday. She sees no alternative but to break into the bus and retrieve it. So, dragging along her shy friend, Ana, that is exactly what she does.” — School Library Journal