Dawn by Marc Martin (Candlewick, 48 pages, ages 4-8). Each page has just one word, starting with “Dawn” and ending with “Sun”. In between, all sorts of animals and plants can be seen in gorgeous watercolor illustrations moving, eating, waking, or making noise, all illuminated by the changing light as the sun rises. Some of the words are alliterative (“sound, spring, still” to describe a series of pictures of a deer), others list the animals on the page (“dragonfly, cicada, bee, beetle”), while still others are a series of action words describing the movements in the panels (“jump, catch, dive, swallow” shows a fish leaping out of the water to catch an insect then diving back in). The final page, with the sun rising over the lake, looks peaceful and still, but readers will know all the activity the water and woods are hiding.
This book is visually stunning, and the different words would make a unique mentor text to show ways to succinctly describe what you see or hear. At 48 pages, it might not be engaging to read the way you would a story, so give the kids things to look for as you savor each of the stunning illustrations.
This Moment Is Special: A Día de Muertos Story by John Parra (Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 40 pages, ages 4-8). A boy narrates the moments of the day as he and his family celebrate Día de Muertos. Starting with breakfast with the family, he travels to school in a bus reading “Oaxaca”, spends a day at school, then comes home to play with his friends and eat dinner with his family. Each page of text has a few sentences in English and one summarizing sentence in Spanish. It’s an ordinary day in some ways, but also a special one marked with the white paint and decorations on people’s faces and hands, a performance at school, and a visit from abuela. The whole neighborhood is shown celebrating at the end, some wearing make-up and others not, carrying flowers and pictures of the dead. An author’s note asks a series of questions inviting readers to think about and celebrate special moments in their own lives.
There really aren’t enough Día de Muertos/Day of the Dead books for kids, and this one makes a nice addition, with John Parra’s distinctive artwork and the bilingual text that not only show readers different aspects of the holiday, but encourage discussion about appreciating people and events in the moment. I would have loved additional information about the holiday at either the beginning or the end of the book, as I know very little about it.