Story is followed by a description of cultural practices involved in the celebration of Dias de Los Muertos and information on Monarch Butterflies. There is also a guide to using the book with discussion questions and activities.

A young girl narrates this story of love, loss and solace, describing her close bond with her grandmother, who was her companion and best friend as well. When her grandmother dies, the girl is lost in grief, until the Day of the Dead comes, and helps her to celebrate this beloved relative...

The story in Barbara M. Joose's Ghost Wings - a young girl loses a loved one, with whom she enjoyed watching the monarch butterflies that would gather near their home in Mexico - reminded me very strongly of Judy Goldman's Uncle Monarch and the Day of the Dead. Both stories incorporate the folk belief that the monarchs bring the souls of loved ones back home to Mexico, when they return on their annual migration, and both involve Day of the Dead celebrations. I found Joose's narrative poignant (although perhaps not as strongly as Goldman's), and I found Giselle Potter's accompanying artwork, done in ink, watercolor and colored pencil, quite appealing. Her figures are quite stylized, in interesting ways, and I liked her use of color and form. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for stories about loss, healing, and the Day of the Dead. ( )

wonderful
2 copies, great as a picture book, multi-cultural (Day of the Dead), grandparents, etc. ( )

While celebrating the Days of the Dead, a young Mexican girl remembers her wonderful grandmother who sang songs, made tortillas, chased monsters away, and loved butterflies.

Day of the Dead, Naive Art; Has questions and activities to use in school