A novelization of the Twentieth Century Fox movie The Book of Life.
Manolo has a simple dream—become the best musician in San Angel and capture the heart of his friend, Maria. But Manolo’s father wants him to carry on the family tradition to become a bullfighter, and to make matters worse, Manolo’s best friend is in love with Maria, too!
As Manolo competes to win Maria’s love and make his own destiny, he must follow his heart and face his greatest fears as his journey takes him to strange and beautiful lands beyond his wildest imagination. Can Manolo succeed in rewriting his fate?
- Adapted by: Stacia Deutsch
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 144
- Size: 5 x 7.5
- Publisher: Simon Spotlight
- Age Range: 8 and up
There aren't many cheerful children's tales about death. But Mary Beth, a museum tour guide, has one to tell.
You see, she's regaling a bunch of rowdy kids with a story about the Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. It's a Mexican holiday, she tells them, a magical occasion when the spirits of the departed return to earth to receive gifts and remembrances from their still-living family members. And if the living fondly recall those ancestors and celebrate their lives, then the dead get to keep spending their afterlife in the Land of the Remembered—a colorful place of joy and revelry. But if those who've passed on are remembered no more, then they're relegated to the not-so-pleasant, dark and crumbling Land of the Forgotten.
And that's what Mary Beth's story is all about.
Well, kinda.
It's also about three beloved friends—Maria, Manolo and Joaquin—who have known one another since childhood. Of course, as they grow older, it's no surprise when both of the boys fall in love with pretty Maria. And on the Day of the Dead celebration, those handsome gents—one square-jawed and courageous, the other sensitive and true—vie for the hand of the one they love most.-Bob Hoose / Plugged In
