The 2008 medal winner of the Pura Belpré Award for illustration and a 2008 honor book of the Pura Belpré Award for narration, Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes with illustrations by Yuyi Morales is a brilliant Halloween book for children. The book is recommended for first through fourth grade readers, but both my toddler daughter and I enjoyed the spooky story. As creepy creatures gather on Halloween, will the monsters rule the night?
Told primarily in English with specific Halloween-themed Spanish words accenting the text, Los Gatos Black on Halloween is an especially fun holiday read for bilingual children. As a linguist, I also enjoyed the inclusion of the Spanish language. Young readers can learn the Spanish words for witch (bruja), skeleton (esquelto), pumpkin (calabaza), and many other Halloween vocabulary words.
In addition to the mixture of English and Spanish, Los Gatos Black on Halloween tells the Halloween story through a rhyming poem. The book begins, “Los gatos black with eyes of green, cats slink and creep on Halloween. With ojos keen that squint and gleam — They yowl, they his … they sometimes scream.” My daughter really seemed to enjoy the rhyming words throughout the story. I appreciated the rhythm of the poem because rhyme is so important to early childhood language development.
The illustrations in Los Gatos Black on Halloween really bring the spooky story to life. I absolutely agree that this book deserved an award for the illustrations. Each page perfectly portrays the creepiness described in the poem with even creepier, but slightly whimsical, pictures. The illustrations, however, are not too scary, not even for the youngest of readers. My daughter loved pointing out the black cats and carved pumpkins in particular.
Final Verdict: Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes and illustrated by Yuyi Morales is the perfect mixture of spooky and magical for a young reader on Halloween. The story is told in a fun rhyme that incorporates Spanish vocabulary words into the English language text. The illustrations perfectly bring the story to life. I highly recommend picking up a copy of Los Gatos Black on Halloween to read with your child this Halloween.
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Image Credits
‘Los Gatos Black on Halloween’ Book Review © 2013 Heather Johnson
Cover of Los Gatos Black on Halloween © 2013 Heather Johnson
Inside Pages of Los Gatos Black on Halloween © 2013 Heather Johnson
