Dia de Los Muertos might seem like a fun holiday full of sugar skulls and colorful cut paper banners, but its origins are more serious as a way to honor and remember the dead.
The Dia de Los Muretos Story by Andrea Jáuregui de la Torre and illustrated by Laura González shares the history and traditions of the day without making it scary. It describes the day as beginning in the Aztec civilization as long as 3,000 years ago.
The Aztecs celebrated their dead about six times a year. They had specific celebrations honoring children who had died as well as adults, and there were banquets and gifts to the gods in honor of those who had passed.
When the Spanish arrived in Mexico and many people converted to Catholicism, the traditions of All Saints and All Souls Day (which honor the dead who have become saints as well as others who have passed on) got mixed with the Aztec tradition and became Dia de Los Muertos.
Preparations for the holiday include cleaning the house and making an altar for the ofrendas or offerings for the dead. The cut paper decorations, known as papel picado, also come from an Aztec tradition of cutting paper (their paper was made from tree bark). These decorations represent air, and other things on and around the altar represent other elements such as a cup of water, candles for fire and food for earth.
Special foods include not only sugar skulls but also conchas (a sweet bread), pan de muertos (bread decorated with a cross), tamales and mole, among others. The book talks about other symbols used for Dia de Los Muertos including marigolds and skeletons, and explores why you might see a party in a cemetery on the holiday.
The book is full of lovely illustrations and includes a timeline of how Dia de Los Muertos has evolved and been recognized around the world.
This would be a nice book to read if you have Mexican children in your classroom or if the day is celebrated in your community to help other kids understand what it’s about. And even if those things aren’t true it’s fun for kids of all backgrounds to learn about other cultures and their meaningful holidays.
About the book: 32 pages, hardcover paper over boards. Published 2025 by becker & mayer kids. Suggested retail price $18.99. Available in Spanish and English.
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