Customer Reviews

Un Barrilete para el Dia de los Muertos

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When I ordered this book, I was excited to see a book about Guatemala's Day of the Dead celebrations, since I am from Guatemala and have attended the barrilete festivals. However, the storyline of this book is uninspiring and could barely hold an adult's attention, much less a child's (the book is intended for children). The photos are equally uninspiring and many are black and white. Both the black and white photos as well as the overly dark color photos (did the photographer lack a flash?)fail to capture the colorful brilliance of this wonderful ritual.

Worst of all, the book doesn't explain the history or meaning of the Guatemalan tradition. The story consists simply in the protagonist asking his grandfather's spirit to help him fly the kite, but never explains that the purpose of flying kites on Day of the Dead is to send messages to the dead and help family spirits find their loved ones. The book only shows photos of boys making and flying kites, and has statements such as "the boys of Santiago test the wind" and "the boys have time to go to market" (to buy kite materials) - suggesting that girls do not make and fly kites in Santiago Sacatepequez. This is not true.

In short, I wouldn't recommend this book, although it is better than nothing, since it is the only book I have seen written in English about this celebration in Guatemala.

The day of the dead is celebrated in Santiago, Sacatepequez, Guatemala with the flying of giant colorful kites. This book provides great photos and documentation of this traditional festival. However, the story is not written in a style accessible to children from four to eight years old. The vocabulary is advanced (e.g. resplandecer) and the sentence construction is awkward. (This may be the result of an inept translation, as I read only the Spanish version). But the story lacks the warmth and vitality of other children's books from Guatemala.