Mr. Chow's Night Market

**Lisa Bueno** (0:00)
Okay, our friends, so today we are reading a story for you.

**Lisa Bueno** (0:07)
It's called Mr. Chow's Night Market.

**Philip** (0:12)
Why are we reading this story?

**Lisa Bueno** (0:14)
Why, you ask?

**Philip** (0:15)
Because I'm hungry.

**Philip** (0:17)
Anybody else hungry?

**Philip** (0:19)
It's kind of snacky time for me.

**Lisa Bueno** (0:21)
And so let's read a story about something yummy.

**Lisa Bueno** (0:24)
Mr. Chow's Night Market was written by Emily Sun Lee, and it's illustrated by Yuting Cheng, and it is read today by Mommy.

**Philip** (0:33)
And?

**Philip** (0:36)
Philip.

**Lisa Bueno** (0:37)
Philip, are you ready for your story?

**Philip** (0:40)
Let's do it.

**Lisa Bueno** (0:41)
Mr. Chow lives for the night when the moon is a walk full of shimmering oil, and the shadows are as soft and warm as black sesame paste. But supermarkets are supposed to open early, and in the morning, the sun is an egg, dripping hot yolk across Mr. Chow's face.

**Philip** (1:11)
I think I see the problem here. Did he go home and go to bed?

**Philip** (1:19)
He is sleeping at the market, in a chair, not comfortable.

**Lisa Bueno** (1:24)
Wake up, say his grandchildren pulling at his sleeves.

**Lisa Bueno** (1:29)
Wake up, say his neighbors already hard at work.

**Lisa Bueno** (1:34)
Wake up, say the people lining up outside their mouths, twist into skulls and flatten into frowns.

**Philip** (1:44)
The name of his shop, by the way, is Trader Chow's.

**Philip** (1:49)
Not to be confused with Trader Joe's, that's something altogether different.

**Lisa Bueno** (1:53)
But when Mr. Chow finally opens his store, the sun is a melting mango on the horizon, and the door is cast long shadows onto the warm sidewalk.

**Lisa Bueno** (2:08)
I'm sorry, Mr. Chow says with a yawn.

**Lisa Bueno** (2:15)
Come in, everyone.

**Lisa Bueno** (2:18)
Lights flicker on and off.

**Lisa Bueno** (2:21)
A sleepy pomelo tumbles from a bin, smearing pink juice on the floor.

**Philip** (2:29)
A pomelo is a fruit, okay, with a very thick outside pith.

**Philip** (2:40)
The not sweet part of the fruit.

**Philip** (2:42)
It's a citrusy type of fruit, okay?

**Lisa Bueno** (2:45)
Yeah.

**Philip** (2:47)
Can we play with you?

**Lisa Bueno** (2:49)
Ask his grandchildren.

**Lisa Bueno** (2:51)
I shouldn't, says Mr. Chow.

**Lisa Bueno** (2:54)
Can we cook with you?

**Lisa Bueno** (2:56)
Ask his grandchildren.
I can't, says Mr. Chow. Who has another problem, possibly a bigger problem.

**Lisa Bueno** (3:03)
Wouldn't you agree? He has a tank full of...

**Philip** (3:07)
Crab on the screen.

**Philip** (3:09)
Yeah, he's got a crab problem in his store.

**Lisa Bueno** (3:13)
Can we help you?

**Lisa Bueno** (3:15)
Ask his grandchildren.

**Philip** (3:16)
Oh, I've got it under control.

**Lisa Bueno** (3:19)
He does not have it under control.

**Philip** (3:21)
He's leaning up against some shelving and it is falling.

**Lisa Bueno** (3:27)
The shelving is falling.

**Lisa Bueno** (3:28)
It has fallen on him. It has sent him flying through his store and into another set of shelves. And his produce is just going every which way.

**Lisa Bueno** (3:38)
The crabs are loose. Maybe help wasn't such a bad idea. After all, everything is wrecked, right? The sky darkens little by little, like it's roasting over the sunset.
But Mr. Chow can't enjoy the night.

**Lisa Bueno** (3:59)
After work, he goes to his neighbors for advice.

**Lisa Bueno** (4:02)
I stay up too late and sleep in too much, he says.

**Lisa Bueno** (4:08)
How do I get up early?

**Lisa Bueno** (4:10)
Bow, the baker, says, there's no alarm clock like the smell of baking bread at dawn.

**Philip** (4:18)
And then he shuts his doors.

**Lisa Bueno** (4:20)
Well, that's not any help unless you happen to live in the bakery, right?

**Philip** (4:25)
Yee, the nurse, doesn't understand.

**Lisa Bueno** (4:28)
What do you mean?

**Lisa Bueno** (4:29)
Sleep, she asks, her eyes unblinking.

**Philip** (4:34)
Do you know, nurses have to take care of their patients all day, right?

**Philip** (4:39)
They never go to bed.

**Philip** (4:40)
They never go to sleep, yeah.

**Lisa Bueno** (4:42)
Ying, the movie theater usher, doesn't get it either.

**Lisa Bueno** (4:45)
Why do you have to wake up early in the first place?

**Lisa Bueno** (4:49)
She wonders, sometimes I love a muted morning.

**Philip** (4:54)
Sometimes I love a neon night.

**Philip** (4:59)
Supermarkets are supposed to open early, Mr. Chow says, chewing the words slowly.

**Philip** (5:08)
So Ying giggles through a mouthful of popcorn.

**Lisa Bueno** (5:13)
Try something new.

**Lisa Bueno** (5:16)
Mr. Chow doesn't know what to think.

**Philip** (5:18)
Outside, city lights glow, cicadas buzz.