En la Clase: Día de los Muertos and Halloween~A Roundup of Books

With Día de los Muertos and Halloween fast approaching, I thought I’d share some great fiction and non-fiction resources you can use in your classroom.  Below you’ll find titles of books on Día de los Muertos for all grade levels.  I’ve also come across three great Halloween themed posts that offer book ideas perfect for students with ghosts and goblins on the brain.  While there are lots of great blogs out there sharing Halloween books, these three caught my attention because they focus on diverse or Latino-themed books for children and young adults.

• Lee and Low Books just shared a great list in their post “Trick or Treat: Diverse Books for Halloween.“
• The Hispanic Reader put together a really fun list in “La Llorona, chupacabras, oh my! Spooky books for children and teens“.  Just because we’re adults, we don’t have to feel left out.  She’s got ideas for older readers in “Thrillers and chillers: Spooky books for adults.“
• Gathering Books has a fun bi-monthly theme going on right now called “Monsters, Beasts and Chimeras” with a number of book suggestions and reviews.

Here are a few examples of books you can find on Día de los Muertos.  Many of these titles come from a more complete list in the annotated bibliography at the end of our thematic guide which you can download for free.

Elementary:

The Dead Family Diaz by P.J. Bracegirdle

Beto and the Bone Dance by Gina Freshcet

Clatter Bash! A Day of the Dead Celebration by Richard Keep

Just in Case: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book by Yuyi Morales

The Spirit of Tío Fernando: El espíritu de tío Fernando by Janice Levy

Middle School:

Barrilete: A Kite for the Day of the Dead by Elisa Amado and Joya Hairs

Pablo Remembers: The fiesta of the Day of the Dead by George Anocona

Days of the Dead by Kathryn Lasky

Uncle Monarch and the Day of the Dead by Judy Goldman

Day of the Dead: A Mexican American Celebration by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith

High School:

Through the eyes of the soul: Day of the Dead in Mexico by Mary Andrade

The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead in Mexico by Elizabeth Carmichael and Chole Sayer

Digging the Days of the Dead: A Reading of Mexico’s Día de los Muertos by Juanita Garciagodoy

Days of death, days of life: Ritual in the popular culture of Oaxaca by Kristin Norgert

Day of the Dead and Other Mexican Festivals by Chloe Sayer

Enjoy!

–Katrina

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