Customer Reviews

Los Gatos Black on Halloween

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Los Gatos Black is my all-time favorite Halloween book. It shrieks and howls and creaks and made me laugh and shiver at the same time. Montes' words leap off the page and Morales' artwork shines and shimmers and conjures up images of her native Mexican Day of the Dead. It is breath-taking...

Love the concept, love the text. Ah, but the illustrations are the main treat - better than a bagful of Snickers and Atomic Fireballs! So spooky, so rich, and full of delicious details - you can get lost in them for hours!

Halloween is my favorite holiday and now it has a new tradition: a book to be read on October 31, and throughout the year.
"Los Gatos Black on Halloween" is as rich and delicious as a slice of pumpkin pie. All the creepy creatures from the other world are gathering for their yearly bash at the local haunted house. Ghosts and Ghouls, Witches and Vamps, dance and cavort until the scariest monsters of all come trick-or-treating at the door. Marisa Montes' rhyming text is spot on.
And Yuyi Morales' illustrations kick the whole thing up to an even more supernatural level. She layers rich cultural references (Is that an Aztec giving the conquistador the raspberry?) and witty humor (the vain vampire checking his hair IN A MIRROR) into her astounding artwork, reminiscent of the finest Mexican muralists.
This little trick is a definite treat.

This is one of the best Halloween picture books I've ever read. Working as a Youth and Teen librarian, I see a lot of picture books about Halloween, many of which are just so-so. This book caught my eye with its beautiful artwork and clever, lyrical rhymes. Though it's not truly bilingual--the text is mostly English with a sprinkling of Spanish--the Spanish flavor comes through strong in the pictures and the music of the rhyme. The story covers many denizens of Halloween: ghosts, skeletons, monsters, mummies, witches, vampires, werewolves, and, of course, black cats. They gather at a haunted house to celebrate the holiday together. The story is spooky, without a doubt, but not scary, with a great twist at the end. There's a glossary in back for the Spanish words, even though the text and pictures make the meanings clear. This book makes a fun read any time of year (especially for a year-round Halloween fan!).

This is an excellent book for diversity in your classroom. Words are defined in the back for easy reference. You can adapt this book for extension lessons every easily.

Both me and my wife (a first grade teacher) really loved this book. It has great artwork (the first thing I look for), a really fun poem that incorporates Halloween words Spanish (teaching them through context), and cute ending. A great Halloween book for the classroom.

This book is a great way to offer Spanish vocabulary to young children around Halloween. The rhythm and the way the book is written offers wonderful call and response between the reader and a group of young children. The context clues allow most children to figure out what the word means and they can call it out after you say the Spanish equivalent. WONDERFUL experience, the kids want to read it again and again!

Los Gatos Black is a delightful tale for anytime, but especially around the holidays. The illustrations are so spooky; they set you in the mood to read of all the creatures of Halloween. I read this book with my four year old son who loved to attempt to pronounce the Spanish words and talk about the vivid dark pictures. He and I both loved this book and he insists that I read it at least every other day. What makes this book special is the fact that it's a poem and you can feel it naturally while you read. There are Spanish words on every page with a glossary in the back to help with pronunciation. I love how the English and Spanish go together in one line with no repeats, yet you know what is said by context. This is a book I will enjoy reading over and over again, while improving my Spanish pronunciation. Plus, who knew that monsters were afraid of human Niño's at the door.

This is a great book to incorporate Spanish for children. This could be used for young students or a child a home who is learning or speaks Spanish. The story is cute for Halloween and combines different monsters and animals. The pictures are stunning, they are so beautifully done, it makes the story a little scary for younger children but it is also really fun. I would recommend this book for children if you are looking for a Halloween themed book to read aloud.

A great halloween book for children. This book tells a story about halloween as a little thriller for young children. She encorporates Spanish into this story that is easy for readers to figure out and learn what the words mean. The book includes colorful pictures of common halloween characers such as skeleltons, witches, ghosts, and of course black cats to name a few. This is a cute little story that would be good for kids that also encorporates Spanish.