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    Just In Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book
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    Just In Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book
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    Just In Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book
    Ebook18 pages2 minutes

    Just In Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book

    By Yuyi Morales

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    From three-time Pura Belpré Winner Yuyi Morales, a delightful alphabet picture book about a Día de los Muertos skeleton who must find the perfect birthday gift (or gifts!)

    A 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year
    Winner of the 2009 Pura Belpré Medal for Illustration
    A Pura Belpré Honor Book for Narrative

    Yuyi Morales takes us on a new journey with Señor Calvera, the skeleton from Day of the Dead celebrations. Señor Calvera is worried. He can't figure out what to give Grandma Beetle for her birthday. Misunderstanding the advice of Zelmiro the Ghost, Señor Calvera decides not to get her one gift, but instead one gift for every letter of the alphabet, just in case.

    Una Acordéon: An accordion for her to dance to.
    Bigotes: A mustache because she has none.
    Cosquillas: Tickles to make her laugh . . .

    . . . only to find out at the end of the alphabet that the best gift of all is seeing her friends. Morales's art glows in this heart-warming original tale with folklore themes, a companion book to her Pura Belpré-winning Just a Minute.

    In English with Spanish vocabulary words

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateSep 25, 2018
    ISBN9781250229960
    Author

    Yuyi Morales

    Born in Xalapa, Mexico, Yuyi Morales lived for many years in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a storyteller, dancer, choreographer, puppeteer, and artist, who has won the prestigious Pura Belpré Award for Illustration five times and has also been awarded the Caldecott Honor.

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    Reviews for Just In Case

    4/5

    104 ratings22 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The wonderfully talented picture-book creator Yuyi Morales, who first explored the story of Señor Calavera ("Mr Skull") and Grandma Beetle in her Just a Minute!: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book, revisits the pair here, in this immensely engaging alphabet book. As Señor Calavera sets out to attend his friend's birthday party, he is waylaid by Zelmiro the Ghost, who reminds him that he must bring a present—something the recipient will love. As our skeletal hero begins selecting gifts, from A to Z, Zelmiro keeps reminding him that it is the recipient who matters. When Señor Calavera finally amasses a wealth of gifts, and then an accident destroys them, it seems all is lost. Fortunately however, he has something to bring after all—Zelmiro himself, who is the ghost of Grandma Beetle's husband...Just In Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book was awarded a Pura Belpré Award for illustration and a Pura Belpré Honor for Narrative—two distinctions that were very much deserved. The artwork (as always, with Morales) was gorgeous, utilizing a lovely color palette and beautifully stylized figures, capturing the humorous and heartwarming aspects of the story to perfection. The visuals here have a Day of the Dead feeling—I have seen this one pop up on Day of the Dead picture-book lists—although it does not directly address that holiday. The story itself is engaging, with a repetitive structure that works the alphabetic part of the book into a larger narrative about birthdays, parties and gifts (not to mention loved ones!). There's plenty of Spanish vocabulary—the gifts are presented in Spanish and then in English—making this an excellent book for use with ESL students, as well as a wider audience looking for creative alphabet books.
    • 5/5
      This book is about a skeleton who is going to Grandma Beetle's birthday party but forgets to bring a present. Senor Zelmiro eggs him on to get different presents when in the end you find out he is Grandma Beetle's dead husband and he wants to go back to her. This is a good tale because there is cultural things but also there are aspects which are fantasy like skeletons don't walk around and go to parties and can't bring back dead people. Intermediate and primary.
    • 5/5
      Once again I cannot get enough of Yuyi Morales colorful and thoughtful stories. This is another book that is going on my classroom wish list!I like the basic concepts it discusses.
    • 5/5
      I liked this book for a few reasons. The moral of this story was the best type of gift someone can give is love. Materialistic things are not the best types of gifts. The language in this book was very interesting. All the gifts Senor Calavera found for Grandma Beetle represented each letter of the alphabet. I really liked the way that was set up. It exposes students to different words in another language. I like this book slaos for the characters. These characters are very different than other types of characters in other books. Senor Calavera is a skeleton in this story. The other main character, Grandpa Zelmiro is a ghost. The characters are developed well. The author describes how Senor C. is always on time and never late. Grandpa Z. said the same thing over and over again, making sure each gift was the right gift to give Grandma. The illustrations were wonderful in this book. Each page is filled with so much color. The pages have orange, blue, pink backdrops which enhance each page. I really love how the beginning and the last page had pictures of all the gifts Senor Calavara was going to give to Grandma Beetle. I really liked this book overall.
    • 4/5
      Just In Case is a book that creatively includes the Spanish alphabet. The main character, Senor Calavera, receives advice from his friend (Yuyi Morales) about a gift. The Yuyi Morales wants Senor Calavera to pick the most meaningful gift for Grandma Beetle. Along the way, each present starts with a Spanish letter. The friend is tricking Senor Calavera to bring him as the gift. In the end, Senor Calavera chooses to bring Yuyi Morales as his gift. Grandma Beetle is escatatic because he was the most meaningful present she could receive. This book would be awesome for young students being introduced to the Spanish alphabet.
    • 5/5
      My Spanish speaking students would love this book! It would be a great one to read and help them make connections between the Spanish and English alphabet.
    • 5/5
      Great book about someone trying to get the best gift.
    • 4/5
      This is a really good book with beautiful illustrations. It is about a ghost going to a birthday party. A good book for children to learn some spanish words as well.
    • 3/5
      Senor Calavera is getting ready for Grandma Beetle's birthday party and is on his way when a ghost appeared to him with reminder to bring her a present. Through the alphabet they go with definitions and pictures beautifully arranged in a very rich and dreamlike illustration style. On the way pedaling his bicycle all the presents are thrown about. He is late and realizes the best present to bring is to bring the ghost Zelmiro...Grandma's dead husband to the party.
    • 4/5
      Trying to find the perfect birthday present for anyone can be a struggle. Just in Case is a book just about that. It is written by YuYi Morales. The book goes through the alphabet to help Senor Calavera find the perfect birthday present for his grandma. In the end Senor Calavera find the perfect present for Grandma.
    • 3/5
      it was a fun book that some kids might like, but the words in the book weren't appealing to me. I wouldn't read it again.
    • 5/5
      The book was really entertaining. The author used the alphabet to find presents to the birthday party that he was going to. The book also had some repetition in it. The words that are used are in Spanish and English.
    • 4/5
      Señor Calavera was on his way to his grandmothers birthday party until he left his house Zeimiro a ghost told him that he was forgetting something. He forgot to bring a gift! He had gotten so many gifts for grandmother and was rushing until he fell down a hill and all of the gifts came out too. All he could bring to grandmother was the best gift he could think of and it was grandfather.
    • 3/5
      In the book we get to see Senor Calavera prepare to attend Grandma Beetle’s birthday party. On his way to the party Mr. Zelmiro stops Senor Calavera and reminds him that he forgot a present for Grandma Beetle. They use the alphabet to find objects in Spanish to bring as a present. The illustrations add to the text by showing the object that we might not know what the Spanish word means. The illustrations have great color, lines and texture that add to make believe aspect of the story. The pictures also show us what Senor Calavera is feeling and thinking on his quest to find that perfect gift for grandma Beetle. The book is beautifully put together and I like books that add other languages that my children can be exposed to. In the classroom: Introduction to Spanish, storytelling
    • 4/5
      This alphabet book uses pictures to help readers learn Spanish vocabulary. As Senor Calavera gets ready for Grandma Beetle’s birthday party, Zelmiro the Ghost reminds him he cannot forget about a present. Senor Calavera finds gifts for each letter of the alphabet as Zelmiro the Ghost uses repetitive text to keep coaching him on his search for the best present. The colorful pictures showcase Senor Calvera’s thinking and each gift so readers can learn Spanish words as they travel through the text and illustrations. Teaching ideas include: alphabet books for topics of interest, Spanish instruction, picture flashcards for new vocabulary, birthday themes, and gifts from the heart versus gifts purchased.
    • 4/5
      The art for this book is Latin American style, rich in colors and expression. This is a humorous book both in text and in the art work. You can see the grandmother expression as she treats death as a friend, but yet tricks him as if this happens every year. Another aspect that brings out the book is that Morales uses art to bring out the numbers for the counting part of the story.
    • 5/5
      This book uses imagination to the extreme. It goes through the Spanish Alphabet to try and find the best present for his grandmother.
    • 5/5
      This book goes though every letter of the Spanish alphabet with a word for each letter. Senor Calavera tries to find the best present for Grandma Beetle.
    • 3/5
      I love Yuyi Morales' brightly colored and surreal illustrations, and I like the objects chosen for the abc's, but I didn't care for the storyline. Does Zelmiro the Ghost come back to life at the end? I wouldn't choose to share this book in my classroom, but I would like to explore other books with illustrations by Yuyi Morales.
    • 1/5
      Personal Response:I liked the pictures but I wasn't very impressed with the story. I'm still trying to figure out how Zelmiro the Ghost comes back to life.Curricular Connections:A good read aloud book.
    • 4/5
      I liked the incorporation of the Spanish alphabet and traditional Latino words and things while having a story to keep the book moving. The illustrations were done really well.This book could be used to introduce non-Spanish speakers to the Spanish alphabet. Then it could open up a chance to play una Loteria with the students as mentioned in the book.
    • 5/5
      Señor Calavera is a jaunty skeleton on his way, by bike, to Grandma Beetle’s birthday party when he is frightened by a moan from beyond the grave. But don’t worry- it’s just Zelmiro the Ghost who wants to make sure his skeleton friend brings Grandma Beetle the present she’ll love the most. Through an alphabetical panoply of gifts Señor Calavera is led by Zelmiro. He gets Grandma Beetle “un Acordeón for her to dance to… Dientes, teeth for a good bite… un Jaguar, to keep her safe.” But Zelmiro keeps urging Señor Calavera to find more gifts and the hour is getting late. Through “Vainilla,” “una W to have two v’s, for when one is not enough” and Yerbabuena, Señor Calavera endures Zelmiro’s requests. But, worried about the hour, he speeds away and all the gifts break. In a surprise ending, it turns out all is not lost as Señor Calavera finally realizes what, or rather whom, Grandma Beetle, whose real name is Señora Zelmiro, would love the most as a birthday present. Just in Case is “a Trickster Tale” because it is part of a folkloric tradition of stories with a twist ending that teach an unexpected lesson. With great whimsy and a captivating artistic style, Morales introduces us not only to a great many Mexican objects and concepts, but to some of the themes that are central to so much Latino literature: the importance of family, a delight in celebrations and beauty, and a sense of fluidity between the realms of the living and the dead. In addition to being a neat example of how the bounds of the alphabet book genre can be stretched, Just in Case can be used in book talks or story times for grade school audiences, that emphasize the joys of bilingualism. The story’s spooky but sweet message and aesthetic make it an easy sell for reader’s advisory requests for “scary books” from very young children.This is also a great book to recommend to teachers looking for Day of the Dead materials with a narrative. All that aside, it’s simply a high quality and original picture book that belongs in all library collections, either with the easy books or shelved for a slightly older audience. It is interesting to note how libraries play into Yuyi Morales’ personal and artistic history. A 2009 article in Criticás Magazine tells her story: “Fourteen years ago, when she had just moved from Mexico as a new mother and did not know enough English to freely move around, Morales found refuge at her local public library…She was so mesmerized by the children’s collection that she decided to start making her own stories, writing, illustrating, and binding her own picture books for her young son.” As librarians serve our customers from day to day it’s easy to forget that we may be providing a place of refuge, or inspiration. The more libraries provide inclusive, responsive service and diverse, rich collections the more likely we are to hear stories like this.References:Diego, Ximena. "A Library of Her Own—How Yuyi Morales Found Her Way." Criticas 15 Feb 2008: Web. 7 Feb 2010.