LA CATRINA

Explore Día de los Muertos while counting items associated with the festivities.

In another engaging bilingual board-book primer from Lil' Libros, a friendly skeleton presents decorations, treats, and important mementos central to the Mexican holiday of remembrance for the dead. The iconic figure of La Catrina, an elegantly dressed skeleton woman originally created by Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada in the early 1900s, is given a cute and colorful makeover that pays homage to the original lithograph while appealing to modern children. The items chosen to illustrate each number from one to 10 range from the spiritual to the culinary and provide a broad, if simplified, overview of the important cultural aspects of Día de los Muertos. Readers can count "three pieces of pan de muerto / tres piezas de pan de muerto" as well as vases of marigolds, family portraits, fruit baskets, and ancestors. Simple text in both English and Spanish introduces new vocabulary and provides an excellent introduction to the time-honored celebration for young readers. A pleasing color palette of deep oranges, purples, and earth tones is fitting for the autumn observance.

A cultural holiday is honored and celebrated in this charming counting book.