Celebrating the Day of the Dead: Books for Young Children

Cristina is excited to celebrate Día de los Muertos with her brother, Carlos, and their family. Young readers can follow along as everyone gets ready to remember their loved ones who are no longer with them. Vibrant illustrations will express the festive, yet poignant, spirit of the celebration as everyone decorates their home, dresses up for a costume parade, decorates an altar, cooks tamales and sweet treats, and much more. At the end, there are additional facts about Día de los Muertos to reinforce the significance of all the traditions depicted in the book.

It's Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and children throughout the pueblo, or town, are getting ready to celebrate! They decorate with colored streamers, calaveras, or sugar skulls, and pan de muertos, or bread of the dead. There are altars draped in cloth and covered in marigolds and twinkling candles. Music fills the streets. Join the fun and festivities, learn about a different cultural tradition, and brush up on your Spanish vocabulary, as the town honors their dearly departed in a traditional, time-honored style.

From award-winning and beloved author-illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh comes this celebratory bilingual picture book centering on a Día de Muertos ofrenda (Day of the Dead altar), constructed annually to honor the memory and welcome the spirit of a loved one. The book uses a counting structure, from one to ten, to focus on family members and their offerings, with a double-gatefold finale that opens to reveal the family gathered around the fully decorated ofrenda with all of their offerings.

Get ready with Meli as she gathers family portraits, prepares her abuelito's favorite ponche, bakes her tía's favorite pan dulce, and prepares the ofrenda with her family. It's time for Día de los Muertos!

Little Skeletons / Esqueletitos is a Day of the Dead-themed take on the traditional Latin American song "Los Esqueletitos (Calaveras) Salen de la Tumba”, with art inspired by the famous Mexican Calavera woodcut prints. A moveable clock at the start of the book will tempt little fingers to change the time along with the story, while increasing numbers of tiny skeletons beg to be counted.

Welcome to the family! It's just like yours: father, mother, sister, brother, abuelita, gato, even a great-great grandmother. Well, but there's something just a little bit different about this particular family. Maybe it's those clothes they wear . . . just a little bit fashion backward. And the colors! So vibrant and . . . lively. Maybe that's what it is. They are just so full of life while looking almost other worldly.

The Day of the Dead is a happy day when Mar’s family gathers together. There are favorite dishes to enjoy, games to be played, and most importantly, stories to tell. No one in the family is forgotten because this is the day of the year when the dead come to visit the living — and for this holiday it is almost as if they’re alive again, as the family takes great joy in celebrating the things that made them special. Mar realizes she is just like her Grandpa Ramón, who kept a journal. And her sister, Paz, plays accordian, just like their great-grandfather.

Rosita tells Elmo and Abby all about the Mexican celebration called El Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead in English. It's a special time to remember loved ones who are no longer here. Rosita shows her friends the ofrenda she has made, with pictures of her relatives and plates of their favorite foods. This board book is a great way to teach the youngest children about this very special holiday.

It is Día de Muertos — the Day of the Dead — and the family ofrenda is at the center of the celebration! Inspired by the popular nursery rhyme “The House That Jack Built,” The Ofrenda That We Built invites readers to join in the building of a colorful ofrenda, a home altar full of symbols and meaning, one special element at a time.

A single day in a boy's life is filled with family, love, and inspiration as he prepares for the Día de Muertos celebration and remembers that all moments are special. Each moment reminds us of our family and those who have gone before us. Today holds a special promise, una promesa especial.