Día de los Muertos

Village children and their families celebrate the Latin American holiday el Día de los Muertos by leaving gifts for departed loved ones in a cemetery, dressing up as ghosts and skeletons, and joining in a festive parade. Ballesteros’s digital art features blocky, geometrical forms, and he gives his smiling characters dot eyes and blunt, toylike features. Thong smoothly incorporates Spanish words into her playful verse: “We share in the foods that our guests loved to eat—/ fresh fruit and tamales, a holiday treat.” Readers may recognize similarities between Halloween and Day of the Dead traditions, though Ballesteros and Thong capture this holiday’s distinctive cultural flavor; one parade attendee, Luz, “looks like someone we’ve all seen before,” and the prominent eyebrow of her skeleton mask makes it clear she’s dressed as Frida Kahlo. Ages 4–7. Author’s agent: Natalie Lakosil, Bradford Literary Agency. (Sept.)