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.

PRIDE, part of publisher words & pictures' handsome Celebrations & Festivals series

PRIDE (Celebrations & Festivals series)
ERIC HUANG (illus. Amy Phelps)
words & pictures (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$14.99 hardcover, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Discover the joy and meaning of Pride, a very special celebration for LGBTQIA+ people and allies all around the world.

It's Pride Month and Brian is preparing for his local Pride parade with his family and friends. Luckily for you, they're inviting you along to learn more!

Embark on an inspiring month of learning and loving with Celebrations & Pride, a beautifully illustrated, narrative non-fiction picture book designed for children. This engaging and informative book takes young readers on a colorful journey through the history and significance of Pride, told with a gentle, age-appropriate voice.

Join Brian and his friends at school, where their teacher Ms Macleod tells them how Pride Month started with the Stonewall Uprising and the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. The children do lots of fun activities together with their parents; Charlie and David go to a Pride trail at the museum, Nicola makes bracelets at a Pride crafting day, and they all enjoy drag story hour at the local library.

Whilst helping to make a Pride float for an LGBTQ+ charity, it dawns on Brian that everyone seems to know what they're going to wear for the Pride parade, except for him! What is he going to wear? Can his dads help him?

Follow young relatable characters and their parents as they get ready for a Pride parade, spreading joy and support throughout the community

Discover heroes and milestones that have shaped LGBTQ+ history

Create your own pride flags, and learn the meaning behind the designs!

Bake some yummy rainbow cookies for your own Pride event

With 16 pages of extra non-fiction content, including quizzes and activities that bring the learning experience to life, encouraging young minds to engage, create, and understand the importance of pride and acceptancePerfect for families, educators, and young readers, this book is a celebration of diversity, inclusion, and the power of love and community.

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

My Review: I think Eric Huang has serious storytelling chops. I hope like hell everyone with kids in their lives who live in book-banning places will invest $20 with shipping to send them this guide to what #PrideMonth means, why it matters to have it, and what fun it can be to learn about it and celebrate it. All five stars to him and to the fun illustations' creator, Amy Phelps.

I love the family presented here, I'm totally down with the disability rep, I think making Pride a true family affair is exactly the right tack to take because it focuses on the h8rs' stated hatred of queerness to expose it as incorrect.

Please use this small, small part of your income to support the self-worth of a kid in need.