I am celebrating the Day of the Dead with my children for the first time this year. We tried it last year but they really didn’t understand what was going on, but now they are really loving this beautiful tradition. We are not only having a lot of fun cooking traditional meals and making fun crafts together, but they are also learning about death and about remembering loved ones that have passed away.
Techonology has really helped me to get them interested and involved in learning about this holiday and I wanted to share with you my favorite resources: a collections of videos, apps and digital books that you can watch, read or play on your mobile devices. Some of these are even free! Hope you enjoy them as much as we have.
Día de Muertos by WashaWasha Games
This game is simple yet addicting. Skeletons pop up in boxes, and the player must wait to see the icon for which element of the ofrenda they need flowers, pan de muerto, prayer, or tequila, and then give it to them before they go back underground. Watch for the bar at the top that fills up as you miss feeding them. It means they are “pulling your feet.” The best part is this fun little game is free, so go ahead and give it a try.
Find Día de Muertos on iTunes
Available for iPad and iPhone
Recommended for ages 12 and up
Price: FREE
Maquillaje para niños calavera del Dia de los Muertos Tutorial
This great video from SpanglishBaby.com will show you how to apply make up so the whole family can dress up as El Catrin and La Catrina for el Dia de los Muertos.
Día de los Muertos Video from Global Wonders
Global wonders does a great job a of explaning the basics of the Day of the Dead celebration. There are lots of videos out there but this one with it’s fun and child friendly animated characters was the perfect one to introduce the idea to my little ones. This video is also very short so it works well for kiddos with a short attention span.
Documentary about the Day of the Dead and how it is celebrated in Mexico. It has lots of information about the different traditions related with El Dia de los Muertos.
Day of the Dead Me App by Simple Sweet Apps
Day of the Dead Me app allows you to place a variety of traditional images, such a painted eyes and facial decorations, onto any photo and digital face paint in the style of sugar skull makeup. You can personalize photos of yourself and loved ones, or even pictures of your favorite celebrities. Day of the Dead Me app includes resizable image templates: Roses, facial scrolls, skull nose, hats, moustaches, painted eyes & chins, and much more! There are additional face-decorating features and flowers options available for purchase in art packs.
Find Day of the Dead Me on itunes
Available for iPad and iPhone
Recommended for ages 12 and up
Price: $0.99
This delightful children’s book explains the Hispanic tradition of Day of the Dead through the experiences of a young boy named Mario. Mario misses his grandfather who passed away last year but today is a special day… the Day of the Dead! Mario wakes up very early in the morning because he and the family are making a special altar to celebrate the memory of Mario’s abuelito. The book is wonderfully illustrated and the text is presented in both English and Spanish.
Find Day of the Dead
on Amazon
Available for Kindle and other Android devices
Recommended for ages 4 and up
Price: $3.99
Rosita y Conchita by Peek ‘n Play Story Apps
We love the Rosita and Conchita book by Erich Haeger with wonderful illustrations but Eric Gonzalez and where thrilled about this app. On Day of the Dead, Conchita prepares an altar for her sister as Rosita’s tries to find her way while her spirit can still breakthrough. The app lets children choose to listen to the story in English or Spanish.
Find Rosita y Conchita on iTunes
Available for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad
Recommended for ages 4 and up
Price: $4.99
Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book by Jeanette Winter
This is one of our favorite Dia de los Muertos books. My little buy just loves all the esqueletos and we are thrilled that it is available to download on your mobile device so we can take it along and the kids can read it anywhere. We will be reading this tonight for story time for sure. The app version of it (there is also a Kindle version that is not interactive) lets you record yourself reading the story of Don Pedro Linares, a famous Mexican calavera maker. While the narrative is in English, the last half of the story is the abecedario with words like “candelera” and “tortillera.” The illustrations are skillful, and kids will love hearing their own or parents’ voices as part of the game.
Find Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book
Available for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android
Recommended for ages 4 and up
Price: $7.99
Gift For Abuelita / Un regalo para Abuelita: Celebrating the Day of the Dead/En Celebracion del Dia de los Muertos
This book does a great job explaining, on an emotional level, why one would want to celebrate one’s dead relatives. Rosita wishes that her grandmother, whom she adored, could be remembered in a special way. She uses the de los Muertos celebration to make a gift that is just right to celebrate abuelita. This is an exceptional book to use in a classroom to discuss the loss of loved ones. The beautiful illustrations really tie this book together with the metaphor used by the author who starts the book with Abuelita teaching Rosita that “one strand alone can be broken, but when they are woven together, they make a cord that is strong. Like my love for you and your love for me.” This bilingual book is great for readers learning Spanish or English.
Find Gift For Abuelita / Un regalo para Abuelita: Celebrating the Day of the Dead/En celebracion del Dia de los Muertos
Available for Kindle and other Android devices
Recommended for ages 5 and up
Price: $9.99
OTHER ARTICLES YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN:
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Traditions: Fiambre from Guatemala
Fiambre from Guatemala for “El Dia de los Muertos (Recipe)
Leran about Dia de los Muertos Traditions in Latin America vrs Halloween here.
Dia de los Muertos Skull Box Crafts
Paula studied architecture and now makes a living as a freelance writer,traveler and amateur photographer.She started her writing & publishing career as the editor of Bebé y Mamá, the first parenting magazine in Guatemala.She is the founder of www.GrowingUpBilingual.com and www.365thingsswfl.com and writes articles in Spanish and English for both magazines and the web on travel,food and bicultural and bilingual parenting .
When she is not on a plane or road trip she likes to create recipes inspired in the flavors of her native Guatemala.
- Guatemalan Dulce de Chilacayote Recipe (Crystalized Chilacayote Candy) - February 26, 2024
- Guatemalan Naranjas en Miel Recipe (Candied Oranges Recipe) - February 25, 2024
- Traditional Guatemalan Candy - February 25, 2024
