Día de los muertos

"The attractive books from the Traditions and Celebrations series introduce holidays and holy days, old and new. While some arise directly from religious observances, others have secular, historical, or cultural origins. Each volume presents a clearly written overview in relatively short sentences that flow well. Nicely designed for the primary grades, the layout varies a little from one double-page spread to the next, but each has an equal balance of text and illustration. The well-spaced lines and large type will be helpful to children learning to read. . . .An informative, appealing holiday book series."

"This series highlights four cultural celebrations with strong community bonds. Each of these narrative titles provides background information, describing the history or traditions that established them as a day or days of celebration, their cultural or symbolic traditions, and the customs that define each one-from food like fry bread to the significance of the harvest during Kwanzaa. While these volumes explore ­celebrations through an American lens, Día de los ­muertos and Kwanzaa are further contextualized, distinguishing how these celebrations differ in Mexico and African nations, respectively. In addition, the Kwanzaa title includes a ¿Como se dice? section with pronunciation guidance on terms with origins in ­various African languages featured throughout. ­VERDICT Recommended for locations in need of greater representation of cultural celebrations in their collections."