Día de los Muertos Books for Kids (Plus How to Make a Personalized One)
The best Día de los Muertos books for kids ages 2–10, with guidance on what's age-appropriate — and how to create a personalized story where your child honors their own ancestors.
Día de los Muertos — November 1st and 2nd — is a Mexican holiday that has become increasingly visible in the US, in part because of Pixar’s Coco. But the real holiday is more tender than the bright marigolds and sugar skulls of commercial interpretations: it’s about the people we love who have died, and the specific, gentle act of keeping them close.
For kids, Día de los Muertos is one of the best entry points into real conversations about death, grief, and family memory. But only if the books you read are any good. Here are the best ones, organized by age, and some thoughts on how to make the celebration meaningful for your family.
Ages 2–4: Gentle introductions
At this age, you’re not really teaching the full meaning of the holiday — you’re building positive associations with the symbols (marigolds, sugar skulls, altars) and the idea that we remember people who have died.
Clatter Bash! A Day of the Dead Celebration by Richard Keep
A rhythmic, onomatopoeia-rich introduction to the holiday’s sounds and imagery. Great for toddlers who aren’t quite ready for the deeper meaning.
Rosita y Conchita by Eric Gonzalez
A gentle story about two sisters, one of whom has died. Accessible but surprisingly moving.
Ages 4–6: The real stories
Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh
A biography of José Guadalupe Posada, the artist whose calavera illustrations shaped Día de los Muertos imagery. For kids who love art.
The Day of the Dead / El Día de los Muertos by Bob Barner
A bilingual board-book-style introduction to the holiday’s traditions. Short, colorful, informative.
Mice and Beans by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Not explicitly a Día de los Muertos book, but a wonderful book about preparing for a family celebration that makes a natural pairing.
Ages 6–10: Deeper stories
Just a Minute! / ¡Un minuto! by Yuyi Morales
A counting book where Señor Calavera visits Grandma Beetle. Layered with meaning — accessible to young kids, but hits differently for older ones.
Día de los Muertos by Roseanne Thong
A picture book walking kids through the holiday’s traditions from the perspective of a family preparing together.
Remember Me (the Coco picture book tie-in)
For kids who loved the movie and want the story in book form.
How to celebrate Día de los Muertos with kids
Beyond reading, a few traditions that work well with young children:
Build an altar together
The ofrenda is the heart of the holiday. Kids can help by:
- Picking photos of people who have died
- Placing favorite foods of those people on the altar
- Drawing pictures to include
- Arranging marigolds (real or paper)
For kids who don’t yet know anyone who has died, an altar can still be built for great-great-grandparents, ancestors more broadly, or beloved pets.
Tell stories about the people on the altar
This is the single most important tradition. Kids absorb their family history through stories. “Your great-grandfather Miguel used to sing this song while he cooked. His favorite food was menudo. He would have loved you.”
Bake pan de muerto together
The traditional bread for the holiday. Many Mexican-American grocery stores sell ready-made dough. The baking becomes part of the memory.
Visit a cemetery (if it feels right)
This is a central part of the holiday in Mexico. In the US, some families have adapted it; others haven’t. Follow your family’s comfort.
Read one book from the list above each year
Keep the reading tradition small — one book, one night of the holiday. Over time, your child will build their own relationship with the holiday’s stories.
The personalized Día de los Muertos book
One of the most moving things parents do with Día de los Muertos is help their child feel like a living link in a long chain of family memory. A personalized storybook where your child is the illustrated hero — honoring ancestors, remembering loved ones — is a way to make that abstract idea into a tangible, readable thing.
At Akoni Books, our theme “Remembering With Marigolds” is built specifically for this. Your child appears as the hero of a gentle, warm, age-appropriate Day of the Dead story, with family members (living and remembered) rendered alongside them. It becomes a book your child asks for each year as the holiday approaches.
Create a personalized Día de los Muertos book →
What to skip with young kids
- Graphic depictions of skeletons or decay. Calaveras are stylized for a reason.
- Morbid framing. The holiday is a celebration, not a horror story.
- Halloween conflation. The two holidays happen the same weekend but are deeply different in spirit. Help kids hold the distinction.
- Forced discussion of specific deaths. If your child isn’t ready to talk about a specific person who died, don’t push. The holiday will return next year.
A tradition that grows with them
The beautiful thing about Día de los Muertos books is that they work differently at different ages. The same book you read to your two-year-old as a gentle, colorful story will hit your seven-year-old differently — when they actually understand that their great-grandmother was real, that she is remembered, that she is honored on this specific weekend each year.
Start small. One book, one altar, one story about one person who loved your child long before they were born. Let it grow into a family tradition over years.
And when it’s time, put a personalized book with your child’s face on the altar — the next link in the chain of remembered names.