P.J. Bracegirdle

I labeled this book as fantasy, but I think it's a very mysterious fantasy. I expected it to be sort of like Lemony Snicket books - a witty, black humor kind of thing. It is like that, but it's also much more unusual than I expected. The author doesn't get all cutesy or spare any gory details - there are some very nearly adult themes in the book. The plot is clearly setting up for a series, so there are some elements that seem vague and confusing for now, but all in all I was very interested by this unusual story, and I will definitely read the sequel.… (altro)

I absolutely loved the book “The dead family Diaz” by P.J Bracegirdle, because it takes readers on a journey and it is relatable. I like how it is told through the dead families point of view like in this line “…his family would walk among the living…did I tell you the living have big red tongues and bulging eye.” This is funny because readers might think that dead people look weird, but in the book they are the ones that think the living look funny. I really love the humorous tone of the book as well like in the line “’I told you we should have left earlier’; Mr. Diaz grumbled. ‘Just look at the traffic.’” Not only is that funny, but it also makes the story relatable. This is a great way to teach this holiday in a fun and exciting way. This book can also teach children that sometimes it’s worth getting over our fears and this is shown in this line “the dead boy discovered that he didn’t need guts to be brave.” This story is so great because it is educational, funny, and relatable. Not only is it all of those things, but it also has very bright and exciting illustrations. The illustrations in this book are just fantastic.… (altro)

In this book, it explores a real Mexican holiday, El Dia de los Muertos, with a little fantastical twist, showing the importance of open mindedness and learning about culture. In the beginning of the book, we are introduced to the dead Diaz family, who lives in the word of the dead and everything in it is basically the same as the land of the living but has the word dead in front of it. For example, the dead moon, the dead sun, dead eggs, and so forth. They are all skeletons in the Land of the Dead but once a year, they get to visit the world of the living on El Dia de los Muertos. The main character is very scared to see a living boy, he fears them because they are hot and squishy. Later, when they get to the Land of the Living, he losses his family and encounters another little boy. They get along very well and they enjoy each others company, by playing pranks and running around. Eventually, the main character finds out that he is a living boy and not a dead boy like himself, immediately they both run away from each other because they are scared. The main character finds his family and tells them all about it, they run into the living boy and his family and the two boys reconnect and say sorry for judging each other. Here, we see a theme of acceptance and how it is wrong to judge people at first glance.… (altro)