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Day of the Dead: A Latino Celebration of…
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Day of the Dead: A Latino Celebration of Family and Life (Finding Out about Holidays) (edition 2005)

by Carol Gnojewski

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Presents the history and meaning of All Souls' Day, or the Day of the Dead, in Mexico, and discusses the Aztec and Spanish contributions to the celebration, holiday customs, decorations, and foods, and the skull as a holiday symbol.
Member:mdaniel54
Title:Day of the Dead: A Latino Celebration of Family and Life (Finding Out about Holidays)
Authors:Carol Gnojewski
Info:Enslow Publishers (2005), Library Binding, 48 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:***
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El Dia de los Muertos una Celebracion de la Familia y la Vida = Day of the Dead (Dias Festivos) (Spanish Edition) by Carol Gnojewski

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Carol Gnojewski's Day of the Dead: A Latino Celebration of Family and Life describes the latter half of the holiday as such:

"As night falls, candles are placed on the graves. There is one candle for each dead family member. One by one the candles are lighted. The names of the dead are said aloud. Shadows cast by the flickering candles dance from face to face and tomb to tomb. All night long, the picnic continues."

Talk about a thematic about face. That's a turn Hitchcock would be proud of. It captures the essence of the Day of the Dead perfectly, however. In most cultures, death is a non-starter. It remains both personally and culturally unacknowledged until the hard truth of life confronts the cowering denizens. In Latino cultural heritage, though, that is decidedly not the case. From a young age, people are taught to respect and honor those that have come before and to meet death with a brave face.

Gnojewski describes the holiday goings-on with a deft hand, but also touches on the Day's origins. A large portion of the forty-eight page book is dedicated to both the Aztecs and their beliefs as well as the Spanish conquest. Throughout, beautiful photos are on display, all captioned with explanations. The details of the Day are then delved into deeply. Gnojewski touches on everything from the traditional altars to the sugar skulls handed out as treats. In addition, a craft project is included, as well as a "Words to Know" section, "Reading About" list, notable internet resources, " and an index.

Overall, Gnojewski does an excellent job establishing both the past and present day renditions of the Day of the Dead. The book presents itself in well-written fashion and could be an excellent tool to teach younger children about a holiday many outside of the Latin culture may not be familiar with. ( )
  mdaniel54 | Apr 15, 2013 |
Day of the Dead by Carol Gnojewski is another informative children’s book about the Mexican holiday and cultural traditions of the same name. Published in 2005 as part of the Finding Out About Holidays series, I found the photographs and drawings relevant to the corresponding information.
The narrative of this book is written to describe current traditions while outlining some historic information about the holiday. I had read a journal critique about this book, and seven others, which was rather quite critical of this work. The author is most likely does not practice this holiday and would have conducted research to be able to write about this tradition. I do not believe this detracts largely from the informative text geared for young children.
I would assume this book would be of value in young elementary education while discussing world culture and beliefs. The author portrays nothing scary about this holiday, even while making minor comparisons to Halloween, to young children and I cannot imagine parents would be adverse to instruction of this material while discussing foreign cultures. ( )
  BrennonJ | Apr 9, 2013 |
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Presents the history and meaning of All Souls' Day, or the Day of the Dead, in Mexico, and discusses the Aztec and Spanish contributions to the celebration, holiday customs, decorations, and foods, and the skull as a holiday symbol.

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