DÍA DE MUERTOS, adorable, interesting book about a holiday I think we should all adopt

DÍA DE MUERTOS
JAQUE JOURS (Illus. Alejandra Ruiz)
words & pictures (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$14.99 hardcover, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: A colorful and immersive book that introduces kids to the joy and meaning of Dia de Muertos. Discover the meaning of Dia de Muertos and learn how children all around the world celebrate this festival.

Pancho and his family are inviting you to celebrate with them! Join in as they prepare in the lead-up to the festival, setting up the ofrendas, finding photographs of beloved family members, decorating with flowers, cutting out skull patterns, cooking tamales and enjoying a wonderful day with all the family.

Along the way, you’ll learn all about the significance and history of the festival, brought to even more life with:

Instructions to make your own papel picado

A recipe to make delicious pan de muerto

A fun quiz to try out all your knowledge

In this immersive exploration of Día de Muertos, kids join a family as they celebrate. Seen through the eyes of young children celebrating themselves, this is a simple and exciting way to introduce little ones to this special period.

In the Celebrations & Festivals series, you are invited into a family's celebrations as you explore the magic and excitement of religious and cultural festivals around the world.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I grew up on La Frontera. D&ía de Muertos was part of my mental furniture even in posh, pointless Los Gatos because my eldest sister was a fluent Spanish speaker and a Mexican culture fancier. The papel picado craft was taught in my grade-school art class (I sucked at it). There were sugar skulls everywhere starting around 15 October, and pan de muerto was a treat I battened on. For those whose cultural exposure was different from mine, the book includes facts and explanations:

This little book is one I'd give to a clever five-year-old to practice reading alone, or use for lap-reading. By about first grade I'd expect an average kid to be able to manage this with ease and enjoy it to boot.

I like the artwork:

...I feel it captures the spirit of the holiday.

If you're one to offer this to non-Hispanic kids at an effort to afford then diversity and inclusion in their reading and awareness, like me, I hope you'll put this under your Yule tree to poke at the current orthodoxy.