In this sweetly funny picture book, a tiny mouse, Chico Canta, saves his entire family from the clever kitten, Little Gato-Gato, when he uses his quick wits and ability to speak another language.Mrs. Canta lives with her family in an old theatre, and she has her hands full trying to keep track of her twelve childrenespecially Chico Canta, the youngest, tiniest, and most mischievous of the mice. She is always telling them, Hurry! Hurry! Pronto! Pronto! She speaks many languages, and she encourages her children to learn more, too. Bilingual, bravo! One evening, after a wonderful performance of The Three Little Pigs, the mouse family narrowly escapes Little Gato-Gato. Undaunted and inspired by the production, they decide to mount their own version of the play. A frenzy of sewing costumes and building sets ensues under the direction of Mr. Canta, while Mrs. Canta oversees the cricket musicians, the spider stage crew, and the moths who will be the ushers. But on the night of the play itself, it is tiny Chico who is the star of the show when he spots Little Gato-Gato in the shadows, and uses his own special gift for languages to avert disaster.Amelia Lau Carlings charming illustrations show the pleasures, fears, antics and glories of Chico Canta and his family, all against the backdrop of the elegant old theater. A note from author Pat Mora describes how she and her daughter Libby were inspired to write this story together after she read the kernel of this bilingual joke in a book of Mexican American folktales.Key Text Featuresauthors noteCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.2Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.

 

 

This book is aimed at children in preschool-2nd grade.

This book has been graded for interest at 4-7 years.

There are 32 pages in this book. This book was published in 2019 by Groundwood Books Ltd , Canada .

Pat Mora, poet and author, has written more than thirty children's books. She is a popular national speaker and the founder of the family literacy initiative El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day), sponsored by ALA. Mora's books have won numerous awards and honors, and she is a recipient of the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award and presented the ALA's 2016 May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture. Mora lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her website is patmora. com.