The Best Part About The Day of the Dead, by Marianne Arellano Pazos

Specifics
The Best Part About The Day of the Dead, by Marianne Arellano Pazos, Illustrated by Justin Dial
Published by Infinity Insurance, 2014

Target Audience
Lexile level not shown
This book is for younger children to learn about The Day of the Dead, kindergarten to third grade

Summary
This is a book specifically about the holiday of Day of the Dead. One of the characters in the book has never celebrated Day of the Dead before, so her friends are all explaining to her that on the second day of November, they honor the memories of their gone loved ones. It goes through all of the different decorations, traditions, and foods that are a part of the Day of the Dead. Each friend believes that the part they are putting into the celebration is the best part, and at the end, the main character finds that the best part of the celebration is actually that everyone does something to honor the ones they love. The story is told in English on the left side of each page, and in Spanish on the right.

Evaluation
This book, unlike the rest of the books illustrated by Justin Dial, has only animal characters, with no humans. The characters fit the setting well, in that the characters were all colorful, like the Day of the Dead decorations. This story is very good to teach students about the Day of the Dead, a traditionally Mexican holiday, that is becoming more popular in America. It is a great way to bring in the culture and heritage of some of our students, that would not normally be addressed. I believe the culture is accurately portrayed in this book.

Lesson
The overall lesson and activity will be a celebration of the Day of the Dead. The children can help decorate the classroom, and snacks can be brought in. The author's personification of the characters in the book will be addressed, and maybe the students can identify what kind of animal each character is. The author's use of onomatopoeia will be pointed out. The author's use of metaphor will be discussed.