Books to Read & More!: LOS GATOS BLACK ON HALLOWEEN

Montes, Marisa. 2016. LOS GATOS BLACK ON HALLOWEEN. Ill. By Yuyi Morales. New York, NY. Square Fish. ISBN 1250079454

Plot Summary

It’s Halloween night and los monstrous (monsters) are having a ball in the Haunted Hall. Los muertos (dead) rise one by one from their coffins under the October luna (moon). By the magic of the night, the monsters crowd the Haunted Hall. There’s dancing witches, skeletons hopping, and music that only the dead can hear. Then suddenly every creature gasps as there’s a knock at the door then run for cover when they realize it’s the scariest creatures of them all…KIDS!

Critical Analysis

This is an easy to read bilingual tale great for Halloween in October and Dia de los Muertos in November. It is a great poem picture book for ages 4-8. It is both entertaining and instructive. The author incorporates Spanish words throughout the book, making the Mexican culture shine through, “The brujas come on their broomsticks,” even if you don’t speak either language you can make a connection to what the author is writing about. The Spanish words help the ELL students expand their English vocabulary. The rhyming aspect makes the story fun to read especially for Spanish speaking students. It is not a scary story, although it has brujas (witches), esqueletos (skeletons), fantasmas (ghosts) and other Halloween characters.

The glossery is awonderful idea to help students with unfamiliar words. The text is written in curved lines that seem to follow each illustration.

The illustrator, Yuyi Morales paints traditional Latino culture with whimsical Dia de Los Muertos images. It has a dark color scheme that brings the story to life and gives it just the right amount of scare. The words illustrate the spooky scenes that seem to always be dancing and having a ball.

The award-winning illustrations are chilling with sharp teeth and glowing eyes that celebrate a Mexican fiesta. The characters are dressed in traditional Mexican clothes and the setting seems to be in a pueblo down south. Morales has taken a traditionally scary image and transformed it, so that the reader sees how beautiful death and the Mexican culture trully are.

I love reading books with both English and Spanish words! I tried to read this book to 1st graders, but only got to the end of the 2nd page. It was too creepy for them. Second grade however enjoyed it very much. We discussed the Spanish words meanings, what Dia de los Muertos is, and I even introduced the students to onomatopoeia words; “Rap! Rap! Rap!” This is great to include in there writing assignments.

Review Excerpts

Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award (2008)
Pura Belpré Medal for Illustration (2008)
Pura Belpre Author Award
Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year 2007
ALA Notable Children’s Books
CCBC Choice (Univ. of WI)
“Just right for children who are beginning to find typical Halloween fare a bit too tame.” —School Library Journal