Book Review: Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras

Written by: Duncan Tonatiuh

Published by: Abrams Books for Young People, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4197-1647-8

Plot Summary

In Funny Bones, Duncan Tonatiuh tells about the life of Jose Guadalupe Posada. During his childhood in Aguascalientes, Mexico, Lupe learned to draw and write from his brother, Cirilo, who was a teacher. At the age of 18, he began working at Don Trinidad Pedroza's printing shop, learning techniques like lithography and engraving.

Later, Jose moved to Mexico City with his family and opened his own printing shop. Others called him Don Lupe out of respect and worked with Antonio Vanegas (Don Antonio) making broadsides. Later Don Antonio begin publishing Calaveras, short funny poems focused on skeletons. Don Lupe began illustrating them and became a master at it. He drew Calaveras based on Mexican leaders and the Revolution.

When he died in 1913, people were familiar with his drawings but didn't know who he was. Artists like Jean Charot and Diego Rivera along with historians became curious about the man behind the Calaveras, who is remembered today merely as Posada.

Critical Analysis

Tonatiuh weaves a tale about the life of Jose Guadalupe Posada with information about various printing techniques, Mexican historical references, and Dia de Los Muertos traditions. The book reads like a picture book and the facts are seamlessly included throughout so they are enjoyable to read without feeling like a how-to book about engraving or a historical timeline of Mexico's Revolution. It's obvious that Tonatiuh has done his research on all the included subjects in the book and children and adults alike will be so immersed in his tale that they may not even notice all the knowledge they are taking in.

He includes an extensive bibliography at the end of the book, along with art credits for the works used that weren't created by him. He also includes a helpful list of museums where one can go to view Posada's works in person. Another reference aid incorporated into the section at the back of the book is an index so that readers can find particular subjects quickly. Tonituah also included a long note about Dia de Los Muertos at the end of the book to give more background on the traditional Mexican holiday.

The illustrations in the book represent not only its subject matter, but also the author's background. He grew up in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. In addition to his own illustrations, he also includes many examples of Posada's original broadsides and Calaveras. Being able to see the artist's original works really adds depth and value to the design and style of the book. There are both full-page examples of them written in English as well as smaller versions incorporated into Tonatiuh's illustrations that are written in the original Spanish and show the characters in the drawings reacting to them much as they must have done in real life.

The style of the book does a great job of honoring the Mexican culture that it reflects. The characters are all clad in traditional clothing that fits both the time and the place where the story is taking place. Skulls and bones can be found bordering the text on several pages, a nod to the skeletons that became Posada's most well-known works.

In the section where Tonatiuh uses some of Posada's own Calaveras, he reaches out to the reader to encourage them to interpret the meaning behind the art. He provides some suggestions as to what Posada's motivations and thoughts could have been while he was creating the pieces. Readers may agree with him or they may be encouraged to think of possible other messages that Posada was trying to convey through his art.

Awards Won

2016- Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal Winner

2016- Pura Belpre Award

Review Excerpt

From School Library Journal, published September 18, 2015

"The beautifully expressive Day of the Dead–inspired illustrations on heavy paper pages sport borders of bones, grinning skeletons, and Tonatiuh’s signature figures shown in profile, influenced by the ancient Mexican art of his ancestors. Simple yet effective sentences accompany step-by-step images detailing the artistic processes that Posada learned as a printer’s apprentice: lithography, engraving, and etching." 

Connections

Students can create their own Calavera poems and drawings.

Study Day of the Dead and its traditions. Read other books on the subject, including:

- The Day of the Dead/ El Dia de Los Muertos by Bob Barner

- Dia de Los Muertos by Roseanne Greenfield Thong

- Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book by Jeanette Winter