Module 4 Book Review #1: Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras

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*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.*Image result for funny bones posada and his day of the dead calaveras



BIBLIOGRAPHY
Tonatiuh, Duncan. (2015). FUNNY BONES: POSADA AND HIS DAY OF THE DEAD CALAVERAS. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781419716478

PLOT SUMMARY
The story of how the famous drawings of calaveras came to life is remarkably told in Funny Bones. José Guadalupe Posada was the creator and was real known in Mexico for his various artistic skills. From working in a print shop, drawing political cartoons, writing calavera poems, and even opening up his own business, Posada has left many cultural influences behind, especially for Mexico’s famous holiday, Dia de Muertos.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Duncan Tonatiuh presents his information about José Guadalupe Posada’s life and successes from the beginning to end, making it seem more of a story rather than just a regular informational text. His style of writing covers the fact that Posada’s creation of the calaveras definitely deserves credit, especially since they are popularly used during Dia de Muertos. The story honors Posada’s lifelong work of art and even represents various historical aspects. For example, it was mentioned that Posada drew political cartoons to call out crazy local politicians and calaveras to signify Mexican revolutionists. This helped to show how Posada used his art skills to cope with the obstacles that were occurring in his community and how he also used them to entertain others to get such things off of their minds.

Another aspect that was interesting to see in Tonatiuh’s work was how he incorporated visual steps for lithography, engraving, and etching. All of these were done at the print shops Posada worked at and had four steps represented in the story. Along with the illustrations, the author provided small captions and directions for the readers. These three actions also helped demonstrate how printing evolved over time. 

In addition to this, the author added a glossary and “Author’s Note”. These tools are very beneficial for readers who would like to gain some more historical background knowledge about the text. Also, they would be very useful for those not familiar with the Mexican culture.

As for illustrations, Tonatiuh did an amazing job with creating the art to visually represent the Mexican culture. The use of earth tone colors helped bring out the setting of the mid-late 1800s. As for some of the backgrounds of drawings with calaveras and the ones of Dia de Muertos celebrations, bright and lively colors are used. The calaveras were drawn in black and white, simply to represent an actual skeleton, but a funnier version! The author also included an “Art Credits” section in the back to highlight who the calaveras represented and what was colored in by him.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
*2016 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Honor Book
*Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
*BooklistStarred Review: "Playful but informative, this picture book offers a fascinating introduction to the artist and his work."
*Kirkus ReviewsReview: "Tonatiuh further marks himself as a major nonfiction talent with this artistically beautiful and factually accessible offering that effectively blends artistic and political content for young readers."
*School Library JournalReview: "The beautifully expressive Day of the Dead–inspired illustrations on heavy paper pages sport borders of bones, grinning skeletons, and Tonatiuh’s signature figures shown in profile, influenced by the ancient Mexican art of his ancestors.

CONNECTIONS
*Danza!: Amalia Hernández and El Ballet Folklórico´de Mexicoand Diego Rivera: His World and Ours are other informational books by Duncan Tonatiuh that celebrate the Latino culture.
*Posada’s Popular Mexican Printsis a collection of about 300 of José Guadalupe Posada’s illustrations/cuts. Students can use these as visual aids.
*Teachers and librarians can use this book for Día de Muertoslessons and celebrations. Example: Students can write/illustrate calavera poems.

PICTURE SOURCE
https://www.amazon.com/Funny-Bones-Posada-Calaveras-Informational/dp/1419716476

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