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Bodega Cat
A recipient of the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Award, Bodega Cat is an ode to New York's iconic feline friend, and the communities they call home.
Bodega is a Spanish word for "grocery store," but they are so much more than that. Bodegas are often a community cornerstone, a welcoming neighborhood haven, and in New York, an emblem of the city's cultural diversity. And who knows these treasured institutions better than the cats who run them? (Or at least they think they do!)
In Bodega Cat , a cat named Chip takes us through his bustling workday at the Matos family's from receiving boxes in the morning and the breakfast rush, through counting inventory and making deliveries, to dinnertime with his family, when Papi cooks up some of the best Dominican food in the borough for their friends and neighbors. There is no rest for this busy kitty...except for when it's time to chase pigeons with his brother Damian, or to take the occasional nap on the potato chip bags.
A slice of city life that celebrates the people who give New York its heart.
Bodega is a Spanish word for "grocery store," but they are so much more than that. Bodegas are often a community cornerstone, a welcoming neighborhood haven, and in New York, an emblem of the city's cultural diversity. And who knows these treasured institutions better than the cats who run them? (Or at least they think they do!)
In Bodega Cat , a cat named Chip takes us through his bustling workday at the Matos family's from receiving boxes in the morning and the breakfast rush, through counting inventory and making deliveries, to dinnertime with his family, when Papi cooks up some of the best Dominican food in the borough for their friends and neighbors. There is no rest for this busy kitty...except for when it's time to chase pigeons with his brother Damian, or to take the occasional nap on the potato chip bags.
A slice of city life that celebrates the people who give New York its heart.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published September 24, 2019
109 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
November 2, 2021
This is a fun read! Both words and text feel vibrant. Our feline narrator is a delight and story does a wonderful job showing the ways in which food and grocery stores can bring people of diverse backgrounds together. Our cat's family runs the bodega (the Spanish word for grocery store, though the author notes they are no longer found just in Hispanic neighborhoods). We see many diverse customers coming for breakfast and lunch, and learn a bit about the inner workings of the bodega. It's great to see family and community celebrated like this. Across the street, another cat's family runs an Asian grocery store and, at the end, the families (and their cats) come together for a meal. The vibrant, busy nature of NYC really comes alive in the illustrations, too.
Before COVID, and before kids, back when grocery shopping could be a leisurely and unguarded activity, I used to love going to grocery stores and finding new items. It was a special treat to stop at World Market and check out their culinary treats from around the world. It was always delightful to visit grocery stores when we'd travel, seeing what local specialties might be offered. Reading this book brought back that feeling of fun, exploration and discovery.
Before COVID, and before kids, back when grocery shopping could be a leisurely and unguarded activity, I used to love going to grocery stores and finding new items. It was a special treat to stop at World Market and check out their culinary treats from around the world. It was always delightful to visit grocery stores when we'd travel, seeing what local specialties might be offered. Reading this book brought back that feeling of fun, exploration and discovery.
September 25, 2019
This is an excellent new picture book!
Bodega Cat
tells all about what a bodega is and shows a day in the life of the cat (Chip) who runs it with his family. The artwork is wonderfully eye-catching, colorful, rich, and comic-like. I appreciate the various layouts of illustrations on each spread, sometimes being full page and sometimes being more like panels that show the quick paced environment of the bodega and all the daily tasks Chip helps to complete.
I also love the focus on family and community and how not only does everyone work together in the family to run the bodega, but the other shops in the community all work and live together and all provide different but equally important resources for their community. Bodega Cat is also pretty informational, incorporating little facts into the story through explaining what something means or just showing a picture of what the different food look like. There is even a further focus on the accessibility that the bodega offers, mentioning that not everyone can come to the bodega, but they deliver! They also provide newspapers in many different languages.
Honestly, what is there not to love about a bodega that is a proud and integral part of its community, providing easily accessible and varied resources to it's customers at all times of the day? And that's not even to mention the shopkeep that I am sure is everyone's favorite- Chip the cat.
I also love the focus on family and community and how not only does everyone work together in the family to run the bodega, but the other shops in the community all work and live together and all provide different but equally important resources for their community. Bodega Cat is also pretty informational, incorporating little facts into the story through explaining what something means or just showing a picture of what the different food look like. There is even a further focus on the accessibility that the bodega offers, mentioning that not everyone can come to the bodega, but they deliver! They also provide newspapers in many different languages.
Honestly, what is there not to love about a bodega that is a proud and integral part of its community, providing easily accessible and varied resources to it's customers at all times of the day? And that's not even to mention the shopkeep that I am sure is everyone's favorite- Chip the cat.
July 18, 2021
Beautifully illustrated and wonderfully told! Loved every page!
June 29, 2021
Spencer rated it 5 stars.
February 26, 2020
Chip the bodega cat tells readers all about his duties as the "Boss" of the bodega his family owns. NYC setting,
beautiful
illustrations.
December 7, 2019
This is an adorable book, and the second that I saw the cover I knew I had to order it through my library! It's fun, fresh, bold, everything that NYC bodegas are--keeping perfectly in tune with the heart of the book. This picture book celebrates the diversity found in NYC, from customers to bodega-owners to cats! It just goes to show how bodegas are a central part of NYC living, and a part of everyday lives of customers. Bodega Cat knows just how to cuddle up into your heart and your bookshelves!
Review cross-listed here!
Review cross-listed here!
December 17, 2019
Cute book that highlights some great cultural elements. It made me feel immersed in this vibrant, busy city world. There's some great characterization going on just in the illustrations alone of all the people who visit the bodega. The story is more like a grand tour of the area and families rather than plot arc, but I still enjoyed feeling included in the day-to-day bodega life.
August 20, 2020
A celebration of bodegas and the people who run them from the POV of a cat who lives in one. A nice mix of explanation and humor, with a vibrant comic-book style.
October 19, 2024
I'm not the biggest fan of cats, despite my family and other family members owning at least 8 during the course of my upbringing, however this cute picture book does bring back those lovely memories of seeing a cat run around the house. I am very fond of bodegas and bodega cats. I'm from Philly so we often refer to bodegas as "Papi stores" but the sentiment and familiarity is still there. I understand the need for a cat to stand guard at a corner store in major cities, especially in NYC where this one is set.
Chip the bodega cat is the boss of the Mato family bodega and he makes sure everything is running smoothly. It is adorable how he describes the every day inner workings of the store and how he helps around (even if sometimes he causes more trouble than he helps lol). I love how this book shows how vital these mini grocery stores are to their neighborhoods and the many people that they serve.
Thank you bodegas and bodega cats for being such a pivotal part of so many communities!
Chip the bodega cat is the boss of the Mato family bodega and he makes sure everything is running smoothly. It is adorable how he describes the every day inner workings of the store and how he helps around (even if sometimes he causes more trouble than he helps lol). I love how this book shows how vital these mini grocery stores are to their neighborhoods and the many people that they serve.
Thank you bodegas and bodega cats for being such a pivotal part of so many communities!
January 1, 2020
SO CHARMING. Sweet cartoon-y art, hip vibe, effortlessly diverse, captures the energy of the corner bodega during the breakfast rush.
You know who should have this book? ALL GROWNUPS WHO LIVE IN NYC. Then when your college friend's kid is dragged to your apartment on their first visit to NYC, you hand them the book and you are a HERO. Bodegas and their cats are as important to NYC life as Times Square or the Empire State Building. (Honestly, they're way more important, but tourists don't know this. Educate the small children.) Real people and diversity are what make this city great. Also, cats.
This book would also make a great gift (or library check-out) for any kid about to visit NYC. Pair with a spin thru the Bodega Cats of Instagram feed.
You know who should have this book? ALL GROWNUPS WHO LIVE IN NYC. Then when your college friend's kid is dragged to your apartment on their first visit to NYC, you hand them the book and you are a HERO. Bodegas and their cats are as important to NYC life as Times Square or the Empire State Building. (Honestly, they're way more important, but tourists don't know this. Educate the small children.) Real people and diversity are what make this city great. Also, cats.
This book would also make a great gift (or library check-out) for any kid about to visit NYC. Pair with a spin thru the Bodega Cats of Instagram feed.
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June 26, 2020Chip is the cat who runs his family's bodega (neighborhood grocery store). From helping with the breakfast rush to counting inventory, to making deliveries, Chip keeps things running pretty smoothly. He knows the best spots for napping, he plays with the neighborhood kids after school, and life is pretty sweet for this bodega cat. Whether they live in the city or the country, young animal lovers will love this bright, cheerful picture book that celebrates city life.
This book is delightful. Chip is a cat with real personality and swagger and I think kids will really enjoy meeting him.
This book is delightful. Chip is a cat with real personality and swagger and I think kids will really enjoy meeting him.
November 10, 2020
This book is so full of energy and heart! Having an awesome cat protagonist will do that...
November 13, 2019
A love letter to the city’s finest feline and the friends it chooses to befriend.
October 25, 2020
This book is full of life and personality! I loved it.
February 16, 2020
I expected this to be a story of a bodega cat (duh) but it reads more like an informational book about bodegas, using a cat as the (somewhat unreliable) narrator.
On the plus side: There's quite a bit of information about what a bodega is and what it takes to keep it running. There are multicultural references: This bodega is owned by a man from the Dominican Republic; the one across the street is Asian. There's a brief mention of the different foods and snacks each bodega offers. The reader gets a good sense of New York City life. On the negative side: I think the book is too wordy. The story doesn't always flow. Overall, it doesn't do much for me.
Colorfull artwork ranges from two page spreads to multiple panels on a page and everything in between, lending to a comic book feel.
On the plus side: There's quite a bit of information about what a bodega is and what it takes to keep it running. There are multicultural references: This bodega is owned by a man from the Dominican Republic; the one across the street is Asian. There's a brief mention of the different foods and snacks each bodega offers. The reader gets a good sense of New York City life. On the negative side: I think the book is too wordy. The story doesn't always flow. Overall, it doesn't do much for me.
Colorfull artwork ranges from two page spreads to multiple panels on a page and everything in between, lending to a comic book feel.
October 2, 2020
If you asked a cat what they did all day, and they responded with their daily diary of happenings, the result would be something like this book. On one hand, it is full of every day mundanity. On the other, the cat narrator is delightful and getting a peek inside the life of a bodega cat is just charming. It's a little on the wordy side, but the illustrations shine throughout.
November 21, 2019
Aww! Hip, dynamic, and cute, this ode to a cat who rules the roost at "his" bodega really pops with life and culture.
January 14, 2020
A day in the life at a bodega for a bodega cat (with illustrations showing us when the cat isn't *quite* a reliable narrator).
February 7, 2020
Looked up words, learned new things, wished I could visit a bodega, and enjoyed this book.
December 22, 2019
Explore the life of a New York City bodega cat in this picture book. Chip is the cat who lives in the Matos family’s bodega. He keeps an eye on everything from the breakfast rush, where he knows everyone’s orders, to the stock on the shelves, that he loves to hide and sleep in. He helps with deliveries too. In the evening when Damian comes home, they play superheroes together, dashing through the neighborhood along with the cat from the grocery store across the street. Dinnertime comes with a Dominican meal shared with neighbors and friends. The bodega never closes, so Chip’s job never ends!
Chin, a native New Yorker, pays homage to his city through the lens of the importance of bodegas and small grocery stores in neighborhoods throughout the city. He cleverly uses the iconic bodega cat as the perspective from which to view the store. Chip is a delight of a character, offering pride, a knowledge of his neighborhood, and a dedication to the people they serve.
The illustrations are done in a comic-book style that works particularly well. They are bright, busy and filled with the bustle of a store. Chip himself hides around the store, offers help, and is in the midst of everything.
A great book about a vital part of New York City. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Chin, a native New Yorker, pays homage to his city through the lens of the importance of bodegas and small grocery stores in neighborhoods throughout the city. He cleverly uses the iconic bodega cat as the perspective from which to view the store. Chip is a delight of a character, offering pride, a knowledge of his neighborhood, and a dedication to the people they serve.
The illustrations are done in a comic-book style that works particularly well. They are bright, busy and filled with the bustle of a store. Chip himself hides around the store, offers help, and is in the midst of everything.
A great book about a vital part of New York City. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
March 25, 2020
Community Helper: Convenience store/small grocery store
Identity, characters: Dominican American
Vibrant comic-style illustrations depict the every day life of a family-owned Bodega, from open to close to a late night dinner. Through the voice of a confident, friendly cat, Chip tells readers all about what his Bodega sells, its customers, and his family. Although the story bounces around a lot between the different facets of the Bodega, Chin uses time, from morning until night, to add a structure to the story.
A delightful glimpse into the inner-workings of a small grocery store and the people who work there.
Reviewed by: Miss Kelsey, Youth and School Services, Vernon Area Public Library
Identity, characters: Dominican American
Vibrant comic-style illustrations depict the every day life of a family-owned Bodega, from open to close to a late night dinner. Through the voice of a confident, friendly cat, Chip tells readers all about what his Bodega sells, its customers, and his family. Although the story bounces around a lot between the different facets of the Bodega, Chin uses time, from morning until night, to add a structure to the story.
A delightful glimpse into the inner-workings of a small grocery store and the people who work there.
Reviewed by: Miss Kelsey, Youth and School Services, Vernon Area Public Library
December 14, 2019
A love story to corner stores and the people, and animals, who frequent them. Fresh, hip, and kind of a picture book/graphic novel hybrid. The voice makes it sing --"The guy with the beard? I knew him before he was old enough to have a beard . . . " --quintessential New York City. Some of my favorite and some of my least-favorite corner store junk foods from childhood feature, as well the antics that bodega cats get up to, like sleeping in strange places. There's a LOT going on this story, but I think kids of all ages can keep up and will enjoy this snapshot of life in the City.
May 16, 2022
I added this book to my library collection after receiving it from Junior Library Guild.
Upon returning books this week, one of my students said he loved this book so much he wanted to keep it.
The book, Bodega Cat by Louis Chin is a brilliantly illustrated book that is rich with the culture of New York.
Students are drawn to the bold colors and enjoy reading about Chip, the self proclaimed boss of the neighborhood bodega.
I highly recommend as an addition to your home or library.
Upon returning books this week, one of my students said he loved this book so much he wanted to keep it.
The book, Bodega Cat by Louis Chin is a brilliantly illustrated book that is rich with the culture of New York.
Students are drawn to the bold colors and enjoy reading about Chip, the self proclaimed boss of the neighborhood bodega.
I highly recommend as an addition to your home or library.
March 22, 2023
This story is from a point of view of a cat, a cat who thinks he runs the Bodega. A Bodega is the Spanish word for grocery store. The cat gives a day in the life of those who run the bodega, those who come to the bodega, and what all consists of a bodega. This story is fun and community oriented story. I think it would be fun for my students to read on their own and it shares about the Hispanic culture as well.
January 27, 2020
A very cool picture book about a cat who "helps" in their family's bodega. The family is Hispanic so there are a few Spanish words and cultural information sprinkled in the story. With the comic book style, this would make a good one-on-one story to learn about what it takes to run a small grocery store.
November 10, 2019
This is Louie Chin's first picture book that he both authored and illustrated and I was delighted by every part of it. His art is eye-catching, colorful, and bright and his lines are giving me comic book vibes (which is incredibly appealing to me). It follows Chip's story. Chip is a cat and is the undisputed boss of the bodega. Meet his family and the community he serves and loves in Bodega Cat.
I remember shopping at bodegas in my neighborhood growing up in Long Island. They sold a little bit of everything and had all the goodies a little kid could want but what I enjoyed the most were the breakfast sandwiches. Forget about McDonald's. From our deli, I would get a fried egg and cheese sandwich. My cousins too, and I would always be grossed out when they would ask for ketchup on theirs. When I moved to Buffalo, NY, we had some small grocery stores in the neighborhood but my favorite spot was Pee Wee's. I honestly don't even remember the actual name of this corner store but I do know that we called the man behind the candy counter Pee Wee, thereby making the store Pee Wee's. Makes sense, right?
I think the trip down memory lane that Bodega Cat gave me is a big part of why I enjoyed this book so much but when I think about the kids who don't have this staple in their neighborhoods, I think that this story is for them too because no matter the amenities we enjoy in our community's, we can learn a little something from everyone beyond our own blocks. In fact, our 2d grade classrooms are in the middle of learning about communities, their own and others and this would make a good addition to their unit. Did you have a bodega in your neighborhood too? Or any other Mom & Pop spot that sparks fond memories?
I remember shopping at bodegas in my neighborhood growing up in Long Island. They sold a little bit of everything and had all the goodies a little kid could want but what I enjoyed the most were the breakfast sandwiches. Forget about McDonald's. From our deli, I would get a fried egg and cheese sandwich. My cousins too, and I would always be grossed out when they would ask for ketchup on theirs. When I moved to Buffalo, NY, we had some small grocery stores in the neighborhood but my favorite spot was Pee Wee's. I honestly don't even remember the actual name of this corner store but I do know that we called the man behind the candy counter Pee Wee, thereby making the store Pee Wee's. Makes sense, right?
I think the trip down memory lane that Bodega Cat gave me is a big part of why I enjoyed this book so much but when I think about the kids who don't have this staple in their neighborhoods, I think that this story is for them too because no matter the amenities we enjoy in our community's, we can learn a little something from everyone beyond our own blocks. In fact, our 2d grade classrooms are in the middle of learning about communities, their own and others and this would make a good addition to their unit. Did you have a bodega in your neighborhood too? Or any other Mom & Pop spot that sparks fond memories?
November 12, 2019
This is a great picture book. It explains what a bodega is, but goes beyond that. All through the eyes of a cat.
January 5, 2020
'Narrated' by a feisty bodega cat who won me over, Bodega Cat is a cute but heartfelt love letter to NYC, its diversity, and bodegas that make the city what it is.
January 6, 2020
Love this homage to bodegas and the cats who run them!
January 15, 2020
A very NYC story of a cat whose humans run the bodega where the cat lives.
Love seeing the cat "helping" by pressing cash register buttons, hiding, etc.
Love seeing the cat "helping" by pressing cash register buttons, hiding, etc.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews