Book Review: Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras

 

1.BIBLIOGRAPHY

Tonatiuh, D. (2015). Funny bones: Posada and his day of the dead calaveras. Abrams Books for Young Readers.

ISBM: 1419716476

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

This beautiful non-fiction book shares the story of José Guadalupe Posada and how the Dia De Los Muertos calaveras came to be.  The story takes readers through the different stages of Posada’s life and the different printing techniques he learned throughout this professional career.

3.CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book is a must have! Tonatiuh shares Posada’s life story in a simple way that is easy for young readers to understand, while providing them with background information on different historical events in Mexico. Through this story, readers can learn more about what influenced Posada to create his iconic calaveras. Additionally, Tonatiuh stayed true to the culture by incorporating Spanish into his writings and providing readers with direct translations making it easy to follow along. I loved this book, coming from a border town that is huge on celebrating the day of the dead, I felt this book really helped me understand the history behind the holiday. A lot of people know about the holiday, but very few know how it came to be, this book is amazing!!!

Tonatiuh’s uses a lot of neutral colors and bones throughout his illustrations. Although Tonatiuh’s choice of colors was not my favorite, I would have preferred to have seen bolder and more vibrant colors like what we see today, I can understand why he choose to use the color scheme that he did. Other than that, his illustrations were beautiful and they did a good job of depicting different historical events that occurred during that time period. The artwork was very detailed and it is evident that special consideration was given to ensure that Posada’s story was shared accurately. Additionally, Tonatiuh did an exceptional job with the different illustrations of the calaveras.  Each illustration was unique.

4.REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

A New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year

A Robert F. Sibert Medal Winner

A Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book

An ALA/ALSC Notable Children’s Book

Children’s Poet Laureate

Starred review in Booklist “Playful but informative . . . a fascinating introduction to the artist and his work.”

Starred review in Kirkus Review: “Artistically beautiful and factually accessible . . . effectively blends artistic and political content for young readers.”

5. CONNECTIONS

* Using air-dry clay and a youtube tutorial, have students create their own calaveras.

* As a class, engage students in a discussion on “Dia De Los Muertos.” Share ideas on ways the dead can be honored through alters. Have students write a short narrative describing how they would create their very own alter to honor someone who has passed.  

* Books about Day of the Dead:

Campbell, M., & Mac-lean, J. (2022). Celebrating día de los muertos: History, traditions, and activities: A holiday book for kids. Rockridge Press.

ISBN: 1648763626

Eliot, H., & Gutierrez, J. R. (2018). Día de los Muertos. Little Simon, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.

ISBN: 1534415157

Thong, R., & Ballesteros, C. (2015). Día de los Muertos. Albert Whitman & Company. ISBN: 0807515779

 Book review completed for SHSU MLA course. 

 

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