Annotation: Senor Calvera is a skeleton trying to figure out what to get his friend Grandma Beetle for her birthday,so with the help of a ghost he decides to get her gifts that start with different letters of the alphabet.

Summary: Senor Calvera, a skeleton, is searching for the perfect gift for his good friend Grandma Beetle. He runs into Zelmiro a ghost with a great idea to help him find the perfect gift. Zelmiro inspires Senor Calvera to find presents for Grandma Beetle that start with each letter of the alphabet. The presents are all in spanish like un acordeon- an accordion, and twenty five other presents. However the story doesn’t end there. Once Senor Calvera finds all the presents and is on his way to the party all of the presents get ruined. This unfortunate circumstance however just helps him to see that there was only one thing Grandma Beetle really wanted for her birthday and it had nothing to do with presents.

Evaluation: I love the cultural associations of Mexico and the dead. This story about a skeleton looking for birthday presents is a great introduction to that culture and the colorful illustrations make it obvious why this title won the Pura Belpre Award for illustration. Additionally the story received a Pura Belpre Honor for the narrative. This lovely story has beautiful illustrations in bright and almost fluorescent color that invite you directly into the story. The characters come to life and you will be pulled right into the story as you wonder what will come next in Senor Calvera’s search for presents. Yuyi Morales is a fantastic writer and illustrator whose work affirms Latino culture.