"Llewellyn's Little Book of the Day of the Dead" by Jaime Gironés is a jewel of a book, offering readers a beautifully crafted exploration of the rich and meaningful traditions surrounding the Day of the Dead. Gironés' deep reverence for this cultural celebration shines through in every page. This little book is a treasure trove of wisdom, providing valuable insights and practical guidance for anyone seeking to connect with their ancestors and celebrate the cycle of life and death.

What sets this book apart is Gironés' ability to blend cultural authenticity with approachable, accessible language. He weaves together the historical and spiritual aspects of the Day of the Dead, allowing readers to appreciate the depth of meaning behind the various customs and rituals. Gironés' storytelling is both informative and heartfelt, making it easy for readers to immerse themselves in the traditions and connect with the spirit of the celebration.

The book's compact size belies its wealth of information. Gironés covers a wide range of topics, from the origins of the Day of the Dead to the significance of altars and offerings. Each chapter is thoughtfully structured, providing historical context, practical tips, and personal anecdotes that add depth and relatability to the content. Gironés encourages personal exploration and creativity, empowering readers to create their own Day of the Dead rituals and celebrations that resonate with their unique spiritual journey.

I was provided an advanced copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This little book is absolutely stunning. It is
packed with activities, recipes, spells, and rituals in honor of The Dia De Los Muertos. The book combines personal anecdotes with recommendations and provides information about the history of the holiday as well as ways to celebrate.

I also personally liked the fact that Girones talks about what it means to appreciate a culture vs appropriating it. I think this book is equally beneficial for those who do celebrate and for those of who don't. It definitely helps all appreciate the beauty and meaning of this holiday.

As always, thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review

This Little Book may be small in size, but it is chock full of excellent information and insight about the Day of the Dead. It is written in an easy-to-read and digest style. I really enjoyed the bits of personal narrative that were woven throughout.

I love Llewellyn's books. Cute, compact, and informative. Filled with easy to read and complete spells, rituals, recipes, and more for whatever your needs are during Day of the Dead. All of the "Little Book Of..." books are fantastic!

Lovely little book about the traditions and customs of Day of the Dead. Highly recommended for anyone interested in a quick guide to this cultural practice.

⭐⭐⭐

Interesting little book about The Day of The Dead. The author gives us a nice outline of the history, which I found super interesting. A chapter dedicated to "death", the history and our relationship to it. There are also recipes, activities, spells, etc. Mine didn't have any photos in it, which I think would have added a little something extra to it. But overall it was an intriguing little read!

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Very informative. Gave me a new understanding and appreciation for this beautiful day. I think everyone should take a day of rememberance for their passed loved ones.

I was so excited to be able to read Llewellyn's Little Book of the Day of the Dead by Jaime Gironés. What an interesting book filled with information and activities on the Day of the Dead. #LlewellynsLittleBookoftheDayoftheDead #NetGalley

The author writes of his culture and how he honors his ancestors. The day after Halloween is a day of celebrating those who have gone on. He includes the preparations that lead up to this day with recipes and events. Also, how to set up an altar. I know that death is normally a topic that many people avoid and to see how it is celebrated in Mexico and other countries give a different perspective on this subject. I enjoyed reading it. and since it is close to this day, I plan to try some of the things i have read about. I received this book from Net Galley and Llewellyn Publishing for a honest review. This is that review.

After a long, wordy but educational history of the Day of The Dead, the book really lightens in tone.The author discusses his history with the holiday. Then you are given recipes and ways to make altars, essential how to welcome your own ancestors into your home.
I learned a lot. I didn't realize the Day of the Dead was from several cultures and many have blended together. Teh recipes are easy to follow and I can't wait to try them.
The only issue is that ii wanted pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.

To me a very good introduction and activities for this day. Some other days of the dead were mentioned as well. Different things were introduced. Nice book.

This is fantastic book. The artwork is beautiful to look at, there is positive recognition of the culture and how it deserves respect, and I loved some of the tips and tricks that were listed within.

I have always loved Halloween (hear me out here, I know they're not the same thing but I have a point). Yes my soul screams for candles and knitwear and pumpkins and autumn colours and cinnamon smells and skulls and witchy vibes. Ok that's what I LOVE. But I have also loved Halloween ever since I was little as soon as I learned it's when the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest and the spirits of the dead can come back.
A lot of kids would be freaked out by that, but I loved that idea. I very much grew up in a household that is pro-ghost and magic and that those who leave aren't ever really gone. That being said, the idea to me that there's a day when they can properly come back and interact and you know they're there beside you? I LOVED THAT! It gave me all the comfort and the warm and fuzzy feels.
I was also very much into making sure the photos in pride of place are of people in my life who have died because I always felt it was important (even when I didn't really get the why of why I thought this).

So. Day of the Dead. As someone who has spent the last decade and a half studying Spanish I was bound to come across it. As someone who loves skulls and graveyards I was bound to come across it.
So I did. When I was maybe in my very early teens (we didn't get a lot of Latinx cultural exposure in Northern Ireland when I was growing up. Let's be real. Samhein? Sure. Día de Muertos? Not so much). And my. mind. was. blown. A whole culture celebrating the day when your family can come back and visit? And you help them by keeping their photos out? And you decorate with skulls and flowers? And where you're not SCARED of death but it's accepted and celebrated and never seen as the end?! I swear people could probably hear my brain pop!

Día de Muertos is incredible in my opinion. For all the reasons I've mentioned and for so many more - it's a cultural melting pot of thousands of years of interaction (not always positive I'll be the first to admit) and it takes the fear out of the inevitable.

This book explains ALL of that. Shows you how to appreciate it if it's something new to you. Shows you ways to celebrate it. Where it came from. How it has evolved. It's even got crafts and advice and activities thrown in, and I love the idea of showing kids that death isn't as scary as so many people like to say it is. As long as you're remembered, you're still around. And I love that idea. It's equally scary for reason clearly highlighted in Coco but still.

This book was a delight. Quick, thorough, easy to follow, and full of information. I especially loved that it took a moment to say that there's a difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation at the very beginning.

The much beloved holiday Dia de Los Muertos gets a loving look in Jaime Girones new book Llewellyn's Little Book of the Day of the Dead. The book covers available history, recipes, rituals, and activities for communicating with your deceased family members and celebrating them for this holiday. I loved the information provided in this book, including deeper looks at the significance of items like marigolds, sugar skulls and monarch butterflies. 

Girones' book is fascinating, easy to read, and small enough to be carried around. I was appreciative of the recipes and easy instructions for items like pan de muerto and even how to make your own sugar skulls and icing. 

Llewellyn's Little Book of the Day of the Dead is available September 8th from Llewellyn publishing.

This book says just what it says it does on the cover, it's a little book about the Day of the Dead. Jaime Gironés takes the reader through the history of how we know Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico today, and other cultures' similar celebrations around the world. The back half of the book walks you through how to celebrate the holiday. I did enjoy this book a lot there was just one part that I felt was taken a bit too lightly and that was the couple paragraphs about Santa Muerte. But as a introduction and some fun activities to try this book is great!

To start, I really appreciate the discussions around cultural appropriation vs. cultural appreciation in this book. The author doesn't want to tell you not to celebrate the Day of the Dead, but to make sure that if you don't come from that background to really check your intentions and make sure that you're giving the culture and its practices the respect and recognition it deserves before you do. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable incorporating any of these practices into my own life because it would feel disingenuous, but I really enjoyed reading about the history, the culture, and the practices. However, there are some activities in here that I wouldn't say are only for those practicing the Day of the Dead, such as the making of candied pumpkin (Yes, there is a recipe. I'm excited to try it out this fall).

Overall, I would recommend this for latine practitioners maybe looking to get more in touch with their roots or readers looking to gain some more insight and cultural appreciation for the Day of the Dead and the activities and practices surrounding it.

Thank you to Llewellyn Publications and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this book, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Since my copy is a digital ARC, I can't tell you what thr physical copy looks like, but the illustrations throughout and the borders on the pages were amazing. I'm happy I was able to see that and I hope that it's available in the Kindle copy (I used the NetGalley Shelf app to read).

There is a several pages of Notes section which I thought was rather helpful.

I'm a big visual learner so I would have loved to see how different ofrendas could be styled based on three, two, or one levels. I think it would helpful if this is the first time someone has come across setting up an ofrenda.

This book was very interesting. The writing is simple which makes it easy to absorb. However, it wasn't for me personally and I won't be practicing any of the activities given throughout, though it may certainly resonate with others.

I love Llewellyn’s little book series. As someone fascinated with the Day of the Dead this one did not disappoint. Though it’s small it’s packed full of useful information. I can’t wait to get a hard copy for my collection. Highly recommend you do the same!

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced e-reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This little book is perfect for those who want to learn about Day of the Dead. It covers history, customs, and how to responsibly celebrate. It includes traditional recipes and even lays out how to set up an altar for new practitioners.

Little Book of The Day of the Dead holds a lot of information, laid out simply, while not seeming like a children’s book. I’ll definitely recommend this to friends and clients, as I think it will be a great addition to many people’s bookshelves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Llewellyn for the ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest review.