This non-fiction elementary book explores the life of José Guadalupe "Lupe" Posada, who lived in Mexico in the late 1800s and early 1900s, working as a printer and illustrator. Some of Don Lupe's etchings, lithographs, and engravings became iconic, especially those he created representing calaveras, or skulls, that are popular around El Día de Muertos. In Funny Bones, Tonatiuh describes and interprets some of the calavera images, reminding people that no matter what we wear, we are all the same underneath, and that we should not trample each other to reach the "finish line" in life. Funny Bones offers young readers a beautiful and historical look at the biography of Posada and the calavera images that he created.
Tonatiuh is a qualified voice to portray the story of Posada and his calaveras. The author and illustrator was born in Mexico City, and spent his childhood in Mexico. Surely, he has experienced many Día de Muertos celebrations and understands the deep symbolism and cultural weight of this topic. He has studied art, and his fascination with Posada's illustrations is clear.
The most noteworthy portions of Funny Bones can be found in Tonatiuh's illustrations. He uses a very specific and unique style, channeling traditional folk style art, with his figures appearing flat and steeped in earth tones. His artwork is easily recognizable, and since I had previously read his book Separate is Never Equal, I immediately connected with his illustrations in Funny Bones. I love Tonatiuh's commitment to and love for Mexican culture. These images hearken back to the traditional, pre-Columbian Americas, embracing the culture and rooting the book. The story of Posada is factual and specific, but the drawings allow the story to be more universal and familiar to the culture of Mexico.
The theme of Funny Bones is equality and acceptance. Just as in the case of the dancing, bike-riding calaveras in Posada's images, we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously or be too competitive. Rather, the calaveras, as well as Tonatiuh's book, can serve to remind us that we are all calaveras, and that eventually, we will all end up the same. Therefore, the struggles of our day-to-day lives may be meaningless or unnecessary. When Día de Muertos rolls around each November, we can take the time to slow down and remember our loved ones in a celebratory manner.
Because Funny Bones is a biographical book, it is focused on an individual artist, with brief appearances by famous Mexican leaders. Therefore, Tonatiuh's research yields a reliable representation, free of stereotyping or oversimplification. The author's note in the back of the book is a more detailed account of El Día de Muertos, with special attention paid to the artwork of the holy day. The glossary in the back is a useful item to include for readers unfamiliar with some of the terms in the text, including Spanish words and art-related words.
Funny Bones was awarded the Robert E. Sibert Medal for informational books and is a Pura Belpré Honor Book. It is highly recommended for elementary and public libraries, and would be excellent to include as part of a culturally-relevant lesson about Día de Muertos.
As a lesson related to Funny Bones, children could read this book around El Día de Muertos, and draw their own versions of calaveras. The students could then write captions about what the calaveras are doing, and share with peers. This way, as a class, the students could generate a set of observations about life through the lens of their calaveras.
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