Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book by Jeanette Winter
Voyager Books, 2004
This colorful alphabet book begins in English by describing a family who makes Calaveras, skeletons, for The Day of the Dead Festival in Mexico. As the festival draws closer, the skeletons are taken to the market where they “dance”. The rest of the book is the skeletons “dancing” in ABC order dressed as something that begins with the letter, in Spanish. This colorful, authentic looking book could be used with young students as an ABC book or with high school language students to build vocabulary in a fun & beautiful manner.
I never would have thought to use this with H.S. students--but perhaps it could even extend into their own activity, to make their own A, B, C Spanish book (for a Spanish class) and perhaps we could even give copies to an area that would need it. Perhaps a Bi-lingual doctor's office or a local ESL community center? However, I don't teach a Spanish class--so I'm trying to think if I could ever do this.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I could use it to compare different types of literature. Perhaps with an ASL using student, we could connect it to ASL stories. Or perhaps if I had an ESL Deaf ASL student (I have a Deaf friend whose parents were from Mexico), it could also be used.
How does the book handle the look of skeletons? Is it scary? Or cute and cartoony? I can imagine that some students might be frightened by pictures of skeletons dancing.
I could use this in my high school class as well! Day of the Dead is a great lesson for me because I love the cultural aspects of the holiday. I always have great lessons during that week that exposes the students to the holiday and this would be another great addition to my lesson. I am sure they would love to have this book read just like in elementary school.
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