Los Gatos Black on Halloween

The spooky spirit of the Halloween season is evoked in a colorfully illustrated book and a fun audio rendition by Maria Conchita Alonso. Imaginations will be fired up by an evocative narration of the story, which is complemented by the images. Background sounds include yowling cats and groaning monsters, and a haunting array of Spanish words fills the story as well. Listeners are provided with the option to select a track with or without page-turning cues, a track with a glossary of the Spanish terms used in the story, and a track of an interview with author Marisa Montes. S.E.G. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

August 14, 2006
Halloween and the Day of the Dead overlap in this atmospheric, bilingual romp. Montes (Juan Bobo Goes to Work
) composes serviceable stanzas, using English and Spanish words as synonyms: "Los gatos
black with eyes of green,/ Cats slink and creep on Halloween." This dual-language approach can be redundant ("At medianoche
midnight strikes..."), yet Morales (Harvesting Hope
) holds readers' attention with surreal, faintly macabre spreads in dim turquoise and clay-brown hues, illuminated by fuschia and flame orange. Witches fly broomsticks like skateboard whizzes, a headstone references Mexican comic Cantinflas and sallow-faced muertos
dance until children arrive: "The thing that monsters most abhor/ Are human niños
at the door!" Ages 4-8.