Title: Day of the Dead/El Dia de los Muertos
Author: Bob Barner
Illustrator: Teresa Mlawer
This book
is a very basic introduction to the Hispanic celebration of El Dia de los
Muertos and is bilingual (English/Spanish). It talks about the food, music, traditions
and reasons surrounding this celebration. It is an excellent way to start a
discussion on cultural differences. I would recommend using this book for
younger kids (early elementary) because even though the pictures are colorful,
lively, and help with understanding the topics presented, the language is very
simple. It might be too simple for more advanced readers.
This book
would be perfect for an elementary Spanish class read aloud. I think it could
also lead to good discussions about different things that each student does
around this time of year (October/November) since there is also Halloween. This
book is appropriate for group reading or individual reading and could serve a
multitude of purposes in different activities. From my somewhat limited
knowledge of Hispanic cultures, this book is accurate. I also like how it has a
more detailed explanation of the celebration in the back of the book. All in
all, it is a valuable cultural resource!
I agree with Esther about using the book for younger elementary, it is too simplistic for older children. As I posted in my review of the book (we confused who was writing what)I am not fond of the illustrations of skeletons in this book or any book for that matter. I think they are frightening for young children. Is anyone else bothered by this?
ReplyDeleteI do think the book gives a great explanation of this holiday and would I possibly use it in a Spanish/English classroom. I would be hesitant to use it in an ESL classroom because of the illustrations depicting skeletons, which might be offensive to other cultural groups.