Childrens Book Review of Pascual and the Kitchen Angels by Tomie dePaola

Pasquale Baylón Yubero (May 16, 1540 – May 17, 1592) was born in the village of Torrehermosa (“Beautiful tower”) in what then was the Kingdom of Aragon at what now is the Aragonese autonomous region within the Kingdom of Spain. He was given his Christian name for being born on la Pascua de Pentecostés (“the Feast of Pentecost”). Because of his love for animals, he was guided by his humble parents, Martino Baylón and Isabella Yubero, into being a shepherd. But he subsequently was permitted to make a career change because of:

• Getting disputes ended peacefully;
• Giving his food to the hungry;
• Learning to read and write;
• Perusing religious books;
• Praying throughout the day;
• Singing with the sheep.

Pascual was accepted as a lay brother by the Franciscan friars of the Alcantrine Reform at Loreto’s monastery. As an autodidact (“self-taught”), he was allowed to do menial tasks instead of:

• Feeding the poor;
• Preaching.

Despite not knowing how to cook, he was assigned to kitchen duty for gifting the friars his Mother’s basket brimming with:

• Cheeses;
• Dried beans;
• Eggs;
• Flour;
• Fruits;
• Vegetables.

While he prayed with eyes closed and knees against the hard stone floor, his work was completed by angels and witnessed by the kitchen cat. Pascual thenceforth was given:

• A friar’s habit for putting on the table apricots, beans, breads, cheeses, and oranges;
• The responsibility of cooking for the friars and feeding the hungry.

The story of Pascual -- Patron Saint of bakers, cooks, and shepherds -- numbers among the inspiring biographies of subsequently famous people who know early on what they hope to accomplish in life. In this regard, his résumé parallels that of author - illustrator Tomie dePaola, who remembers planning an artistic career as a four-year-old. Pascual and the Kitchen Angels indeed respects childhood experiences and personal preferences through the astute choices of:

• Gina DiMassi and Marikka Tamur as designers;
• G.P. Putnam’s Sons as publisher;
• South China Printing Co. Ltd. as manufacturer.

Painted in acrylics and gesso on 140-pound handmade rough watercolor paper and typeset in Raleigh Demi Bold, the 2004-released publication welcomes ages 4 years and upward.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Pascual's angelic experiences in the kitchen, for which he is honored as Patron Saint of Bakers and Cooks, are depicted charmingly in Tomie dePaola's children's story, "Pascual and the Kitchen Angels."
Aparició de l'Eucaristia a Sant Pasqual Bailon ("Apparition of the Eucharest to Saint Pasquale Baylon") by Bernardo López Piquer (August 20, 1801 – August 1, 1874)
Museu de Belles Arts de València, east central coastal Spain: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SantosBailon.jpg

Young Pascual expressed his love for animals through prayer-filled care as a singing shepherd.
John Gilmary Shea, Pictorial Lives of the Saints (1922), p. 259: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/pictoriallivesof00sheauoft/page/259/mode/1up

St. Pasquale (Paschal) Baylon with sheep (bottom right)
Couvent Saint-François (St Francis Convent), Paris, north central France: GFreihalter, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paris_Chapelle_des_Franciscains172.JPG

"Telling Stories with Tomie 'Food as Storytelling'" (2:49)
Uploaded May 10, 2013, by The Jim Henson Company to YouTube ~ URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTnT1O7rYWI

dePaola, Tomie. 2004. Pascual and the Kitchen Angels. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

“Pascual and the Kitchen Angels.” Tomie.com: Tomie’s Books > Bibliography. Retrieved December 8, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.tomie.com/books/bibliography/2004/pascual.html

“17 de mayo San Pascual Bailón (1540 – 1592).” Directorio Franciscano: Santoral Franciscano. Franciscanos.org. Retrieved December 8, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.franciscanos.org/santoral/pascualbailon.htm

Shea, John Gilmary. 1922. Pictorial Lives of the Saints With Reflections for Every Day of the Year: Compiled from "Butler's Lives" and Other Approved Sources; To Which Are Added Lives of Certain Saints Contained in the Calendar of Special Feasts for the United States and Some Others Recently Canonized. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Brothers.

• Available via Internet Archive at: https://archive.org/details/pictoriallivesof00shea