Chato and the Party Animals

                              by

                       Gary Soto

                      Illustrated by

                  Susan Guevara

 

 Pura Belpre Award – 2002 Medal

           Winner for Illustration

Soto, G. (2000). Chato and the party animals. New York, NY:

G. P. Putnam's Sons.

EXPOSITION: Chato was the coolest cat in el barrio, and he especially liked to go to parties with his friends.

CONFLICT: One day, Chato was having fun at a birthday party when he noticed that his best friend, Novio Boy, was crying because he was from the pound and never knew when his birthday was, so he had never had a birthday party.

RISING ACTION: So, Chato decided to throw his carnal a surprise birthday party.  But when all the guests had arrived at the pachanga and were getting ready to break the piñata, Chato realized he had forgotten to invite Novio Boy.

CLIMAX: Chato and all the party guests ran all over el barrio but they could not find Novio Boy anywhere, and they were afraid he had been run over or kidnapped. 

 

FALLING ACTION: Just when all the party guests were feeling their saddest, Novio Boy casually came in to beg some food.  He had been
relaxing in a dumpster and didn’t even know his
friends were looking for him.

RESOLUTION: So, Novio Boy’s pachanga was a complete surprise and a real success, since the birthday boy felt very glad to have such good friends as Chato.  

WAS THIS A WELL-ILLUSTRATED BOOK?  Susan Guevara drawings in this book won the 2002 Pura Belpre Award for Illustration.  The pictures are very big, filling most of every page, which appropriately reflects the characters like Chato who really love life and live it to the fullest.  While each drawing is quite detailed, the many colors seem to almost blur together into a visual tapestry.

PICTURE SOURCES:

bookfever.com
community.secondlife.com
waldameer.com
marmot.lib.overdrive.com