Pascual's life, as a sheperd boy who aspires to help the poor. He joins the Franciscans but at first does nothing but cook for the friars, with lots of help from his friends. ( )

This is one of my favorite authors because of the illustration. The simplistic style makes the images so beautiful. I also love how the story has such great meaning and teach you about different cultures. this book will definitely spark conversation in the classroom by his wardrobe and the angels that were helping in the kitchen. ( )

Pascual is born and immediately can see angels. His parents concur that he must be very loved by God. Pascual got along with the animals, his friends, and the monks at Saint Francis. When Pascual arrives at the monastery, the friars ask him to cook all of the food he brought. Pascual does not know how to cook, so he kneels and prays in the kitchen while angels make the food for him. Night after night, day after day, Pascual kneels and prays while the angels cook. Eventually, the friars uncover the secret, but they do not tell Pascual. Instead, Pascual is allowed to continue cooking with the angels and help feed the homeless.
Again I can see similarities in the illustrations of this book compared to other ones Tomie dePaola has illustrated. Some of the pages were broken into multiple illustrations, as I saw in “Strega Nona’s Gift.” The colors seem to usually be muted and not too bright. I think this might help students focus on not just the picture, but the text as well.
At the end of the book, the author’s note explains that Pascual is the patron saint of cooks. This book was cute, but I was not as impressed with it as I have been with others. I personally feel the audience is very limited, as I feel like this book would not be appropriate in public school. I also feel like it would take a certain maturity level for children to read this book and understand that angels are not going to come do everything for them. ( )

Pascual and the Kitchen Angels is the story of a man who joins a monastery where is has to cook while also wanting to help feed people who are hungry. With the help of angels in the kitchen, Pascual is able to do both. This is a good book to teach about perseverance. ( )

I was totally charmed by this book! Love the illustrations, and the story of the boy who tends the sheep and then goes to the monastery to feed the poor, but ends up "cooking" for the monks--cute! I got a big kick out of the whole "kitchen angel" thing, and the explanation in the back of the book says Pascuel actually is the patron saint of the kitchen and cooks! Who knew?! (Not me!) ( )