Front cover of an edition of Los Gatos Black on Halloween.
Los Gatos Black on Halloween (ISBN 1250079454) is a 32-page children's picture book that was first published in the United States in 2006. The story, written in verse, is by the Puerto Rican writer Marisa Montes. The illustrations are by the Mexican-born artist Yuyi Morales. It describes strange creatures roaming free and amusing themselves on Halloween night.
The book is mostly in English although it also includes eighteen Spanish-language words. Children who only speak English should not have much difficulty following the story. Each time that a new Spanish word is introduced, the English equivalent word appears soon afterwards. The illustrations should also make the meaning of the Spanish word obvious. A glossary of Spanish words with a pronunciation guide is also included in the book. The imagery in Yuyi Morales' illustrations is heavily influenced by that associated with the Mexican Day of the Dead. The book can be used to help introduce non-Hispanic children to the festival and to help them learn Halloween-related Spanish vocabulary in an entertaining manner.
Summary[]
It is Halloween night. Black cats with green eyes are on the prowl, lanterns made of carved pumpkins are glowing and witches are flying high on their broomsticks. There are skeletons, ghosts, ghouls and zombies on the loose. The moon is shining on a vampire, a mummy is walking and a werewolf is howling. The dead emerge from their graves and walk the Earth. All of the monsters and creatures of the night. make their way to a haunted house. They have a party, play music and dance. When they hear a knock at the door, however, they are all worried. Their worst fears are realized when the door opens to reveal costumed trick-or-treaters. All of the creatures of the night flee because they are terrified of children.
List of Spanish words used in the book[]
In the order in which they appear in the story
- los gatos - cats
- los ojos - eyes
- las calabazas - pumpkins
- las brujas - witches
- las escobas - brooms
- los equeletos - skeletons
- los fantasmas - ghosts
- la luna - the moon
- la momia - mummy
- medianoche - midnight
- la tumba - tomb
- los muertos - the dead
- la casa - the house
- la noche - night
- los monstruos - monsters
- la música - music
- la puerta - the door
- los niños - children
External links[]
- 'Los Gatos Black on Halloween on the website of the publishers Macmillan.
- Los Gatos Black on Halloween on GoodReads.