Review on JUST IN CASE: A TRICKSTER TALE AND SPANISH ALPHABET BOOK by: Yuyi Morales

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Morales, Yuyi. JUST IN CASE: A TRICKSTER TALE AND SPANISH ALPHABET BOOK. Ill. by Yuyi Morales. New York, NY. ISBN 978-1-54907-847-7

PLOT SUMMARY

Señor Calavera is getting ready to celebrate Grandma Bettle’s birthday when he is stopped by the  ghostly spirit of Grandpa Zelmiro, who reminds him he has forgotten to get a present. He gathers an alphabetical assortment of gifts in a hurry from  “cosquillas (tickles to make her laugh) to Yerbabuena (a good herb to soothe her day).  Señor Calavera has an accident and loses all his gifts.  He worries he will miss the party as he tries to find another gift. All is okay when he shows up to the party with the present Grandma Beetle would love the most, Grandpa Zelmiro.                                                                                                   

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Señor Calavera, a playful skeleton with a simply decorated sugar skull, preps himself for Grandma Beetle’s party with human traits by ironing his tie and dusting off his hat. Swirling about in the space from his home to the party we see a focus on the illustrations with simple text parallel to them. He silently follows Grandpa Zelmiro’s voice for collecting the alphabetical assortment of gifts. The repetition of “just in case…” leads us through the story following a long, letter by letter from an “acodión” to “yerbabuena” and to a happy ending when Grandpa Zelmiro appears at the party. 

We see the rich Latino culture represented in the Spanish language, the rich vibrant colors, and the illustrations.  The translations of the gifts help for a better understanding for their use and purpose throughout the story. One symbolic example was the “escalera” (to reach past the sky) symbolizing that Grandpa Zelmiro’s spirit is up there as he is shown wrapped around the ladder in the illustration. Smaller details such as the title of Señor Calavera’s book on his stool “Cien años de soledad” (100 years of solitude) set the tone for the protagonist's life as a calavera which is used in representing loved ones who have passed on. 

REVIEW EXCERPTS/AWARDS

Booklist (September 15, 2008): “This companion to Morales’ award-winning Just a Minute (2003) will be a hit for story time.”

Kirkus Reviews (October 15, 2006): “As gifted an artist as she is a storyteller, Morales is in top form here.”

Library Media Connection (May/June 2009): “ Vibrantly colorful illustrations interspersed throughout a rollicking story make this a delightful, atypical alphabet book.”

*ALA Notable Children’s Books, 2009

*Book Links, 03/01/10

*Booklist, 09/15/08

*Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, 12/01/08

*Horn Book Magazine, 01/01/09

*Library Media Connection, 05/01/09

*Pura Belpré Author Honor, 2009

*Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, 2009

*School Library Journal, 09/01/08

CONNECTIONS

-This trickster tale is a great book to read for a social studies unit on cultures. It ties in Latino culture and because of its alphabetical component and is very useful for an ESL/bilingual component as well. 

-A sugar skull decorating activity would be a great artistic extension to this fun and vibrant read aloud. 

-I would recommend a Spanish speaker to lead the read-aloud as some of the Spanish words can be difficult to read. Using an online translator and dictionary can be very helpful to readers who are not familiar with the Spanish language. 

Morales, Yuyi. JUST A MINUTE: A TRICKSTER TALE AND COUNTING BOOK. ISBN 978-0-8118-6483-1

Berner, Bob. THE DAY OF THE DEAD = EL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS. ISBN 978-0-8234-2381-1

Weninger, Brigitte. AUNT FANNY’S STAR: CHILDREN AND THE LOVED ONES THEY LOST. ISBN 9789888341306