Two best friends enjoy dressing up for their Halloween party at school; Mía is a monarch butterfly and Camila is a leaping frog! The girls live in the same building so Camila goes home with Mía after school and eats dinner with her family. But when they invite Camila to help set up their Day of the Dead altar, she is afraid of the skulls.

Mía teaches her friend that the altar is a way to remember and honor loved ones who have passed. “It’s like a party,” she says. Decorated with flowers, photos and the departed person’s favorite things, it’s full of beautiful memories. Camila wonders if she can prepare one for her mother—whom she misses terribly—even though she is Colombian and not Mexican. Camila’s father likes the idea and helps his daughter make her mom’s favorite food, arepas with lots of cheese, to put on the altar and share with Mía’s family at dinner the next night.

This bilingual picture book for children ages 5-9 illustrated in festive fall colors warmly depicts the love of lost family members—even four-legged ones—and the Mexican indigenous tradition of the Day of the Dead / El Día de los Muertos. Immigrant kids in particular will relate to celebrating holidays from both their home and mainstream cultures.