Day of the Dead: Old Ways, New Ways

Celebrate El Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, with a young girl and her family in this Step 2 reader--perfect for young readers who recognize familiar words and can sound out new words with help!

It’s the Day of the Dead, and time for a little girl's family to set up their ofrenda. This year, she wants to add pizza to their offering! Her brother likes that idea, and asks to add ice cream as well! Unfortunately for them, their parents only want to include tamales, in keeping with the old ways. But when Grandma comes over and mentions her late friend—one she is honoring this year on Day of the Dead—didn’t like tamales as much as she liked pizza and ice cream, the family must decide together whether it may be time to start a new tradition, one that honors old ways and new.


Step 2 Readers use basic vocabulary and short sentences to tell simple stories, for children who recognize familiar words and can sound out new words with help.Melissa Seron Richardson is a Mexican American mom of three who lives in Utah. Having grown up as a mixed-race child, she hopes her work will give a voice and a path to other mixed-race kids to discover where they belong.

Geraldine Rodriguez is a Mexican illustrator, digital artist, animation and music enthusiast. She has created artwork for the Mihi series by Tae Keller, Fearless series by Mandy Gonzalez, and other beautiful children’s books. She loves fantastic and wonderful stories where she paints sparkly environments and cool characters, warm and pretty colors are her favorite. She lives in Nuevo Leon, México.