I’m so excited to share an incredibly powerful and beautiful picture book with you today. Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story / El regalo de abuelita: Un cuento de Día de Muertos is a colorful, joyful celebration of life and love. 

Written by Mariana Ríos Ramírez and illustrated by Sara Palacios, the book provides a deep look into culture, family, celebrations, and the power of connectedness. If the kids in your life are new to this holiday, it’s an extraordinary introduction. If they are already familiar with it, so much will ring true in this personal, compelling story. While the book focuses on this particular holiday, it is definitely a book to read year-round, especially when acknowledging the lives of loved ones. There's a fantastic resource section at the end, as well.

The illustrations beautifully show life, love, family, the search for connection, and absolute, pure joy. 

Highly, highly recommended!

About the book:
Julieta is excited for Abuelita's spirit to visit on Día de Muertos. She is determined to find the perfect gift to honor Abuelita and to show how much she misses her. However, her ideas fail one by one and Julieta grows worried. It is only when Julieta embraces the memories she once shared with her abuelita, that she realizes the perfect gift comes from the heart. An uplifting story about both life and death, family, and the threads that connect us, long after we are gone.

About the author and illustrator:
Mariana Ríos Ramírez is a Mexican children’s book author who loves sharing elements of her culture, language, and traditions through her stories. She’s the author of Santiago’s Dinosaurios (Albert Whitman & Co. - 2022), Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story (Knopf Books for Young Readers – 2024) and its Spanish edition El regalo de abuelita: Un cuento de Día de Muertos. She’s a member of SCBWI, Las Musas, and Rate Your Story.

Besides writing, Mariana loves photography, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. She currently resides in Anderson, South Carolina with her husband, two kids, and a Chihuahua dog named Rogers.

Sara Palacios was the recipient of the 2012 Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Award for her work on Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match. A native of México, Sara graduated from the National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico City and went on to earn BFA and MFA degrees in illustration from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She illustrates for companies in both the United States and México. 

We were lucky enough to catch up with Mariana Ríos Ramírez and Sara Palacios and ask them about the book, tips for families and educators, the illustrations, and more. Here's what they had to say...

Please tell us about your new book Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos story?
First of all, I am very honored that I get to share a beloved tradition of my country, México, through the pages of this book. I wanted the focus to be on the close and loving relationship between Julieta and Abuelita, and how Julieta was able to find a way to stay connected to her, even when Abuelita was no longer around. Highlighting the sweet moments the characters shared was key to building their relationship and add more heart to the pages, which I think it’s what makes this story so special. 

In essence, this is a heartwarming story about life and death, the love of family, and how we are always connected even if our loved ones have passed away. The fact that readers can also learn about how Día de Muertos is celebrated in México provides another layer of appeal to Abuelita’s Gift. For me it was very important to show the characters embracing the tradition as the story progressed, while I also wanted to go into more depth regarding the celebration, which I was able to do with the back matter (author’s note, glossary and elements of the ofrenda).

What led you to write this beautiful, touching book?
In 2016, my family moved from México to South Carolina due to my husband’s job. At the time, my kids were 5 and 2 years old, and they were suddenly faced with the challenge of a new language, culture, and traditions. Through the years, we have embraced our new life in the USA, but my husband and I also wanted our children to grow up with traditions from their country and connections to our family. For this reason, we began to set up an ofrenda for Día de Muertos. The celebration provided the perfect opportunity to feel connected to our Mexican roots while it also allowed us to talk about our ancestors with our kids. Since then, setting up our ofrenda is a family activity that we enjoy very much, and it’s a tradition that I’m hoping my children will continue to celebrate as they grow up. 

For these reasons, I was inspired to write Abuelita’s Gift, so that I could share a glimpse of the beautiful tradition of Día de Muertos with other children, as I did with my own. 

How can families and educators utilize this book (and other resources) in discussions about Día de Muertos, family, and connection?
I hope that Abuelita’s Gift will inspire conversations about loved ones who are no longer alive, and that children get curious about their own ancestors, wanting to know more about their stories. For me it’s been precious to share memories from my grandparents and great-grandparents with my children, so I hope that for many families it will be the same. 

I also think this book is a good resource to spark discussions with parents or teachers about death, which is a topic that might be scary for kids, but at the same time it’s something that’s very real and that it’s part of our lives. It’s very likely that some children have already experienced this type of loss in their lives, and being able to see themselves in the story and how the characters navigate those big feelings might provide a certain level of comfort to them.

Another important message of this book is the understanding that even if our loved ones pass away, the strong feelings and connections we shared with them live on in our memories and hearts. This is how our loved ones get to live on forever. As long as we talk about them and their stories, they never really leave us. This is the way in which future generations in the family will get to know their ancestors, even when they never meet them in person.

Finally, I hope children will realize, like Julieta, that the best gifts come from the heart, and that’s how the gift is not only for the person who receives it, but for the giver as well. 

As for resources, the book has an author’s note, in which I talk in more depth about Día de Muertos in México, as well as an English-Spanish glossary. Besides this, there’s also an ofrenda diagram with the most distinctive elements that are included and their meaning (symbolism), which I hope readers will find interesting. 

Finally, on my website, there are different downloadable activities related to Día de Muertos. From sugar skull mask decoration to coloring sheets or building an ofrenda, there are several options to continue learning more about this celebration while having fun.  

Sara, your illustrations bring the story to life. I am a person who reads in pictures. What is your art process like, to collaborate on bringing this story to the page (and to life!)?
I always start by looking for reference. I gather as many pictures as I can pertaining the story and the characters, their house or location, the colors, and the environment. While I do research and get more familiar with the story visually, I work on character studies This is one of my favorite parts of the process. Getting to know the characters is always fun. Once the characters have been approved by the team, and I have enough visual information I start drawing thumbnails, sorting out the composition, finding ways to integrate the text in the image as seamlessly as possible. When the thumbnails and sketches have been revised and approved then I move to color. I research the color as well, so I have specific reference for that. Color is very significant in the story, different colors reflect different moods and help support different ideas and feelings. It is important for me to have a clear idea of the color palette and make sure it suits the story. 

There’s always input from the art director, the editor. and notes from the author, so it is always a collaborative process. Together we work on revising whatever may be necessary to make the story as rich as possible.

What’s up next for you?
I’m currently working on another book with my editor, but it hasn’t been announced yet. I can tell you that I love the story, characters, and setting. It’s been so fun to write it and I can’t wait to share more about it soon. Meanwhile, I keep on writing new stories. 

How can people find your work?
Mariana: They can visit my website www.marianariosramirez.com, in which they will be able to find more information about me, my books, my blog and my social media contacts if they would like to connect. Links to the stores where books can be bought are also included there or in my Linktree linktr.ee/MarianaRiosR.

Social Media Links
Instagram: @marianariosr
Twitter: @marianariosrmz1
Linktree: linktr.ee/MarianaRiosR

Sara: I‘m not active on social media but you can see more of my work and be updated about new books on my website: www.sarapalaciosillustrations.com

Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Author photo credit: J. Pray Photography