Kauai Author hits best-seller list with Day of the Dead Sugar Skull Coloring Book
On a sunny October day a few years back, Kauai author Monika Mira decided to have a Dia de los Muertos party for her son. As an illustrator, she whipped up some coloring sheets that the kids could color in and make masks with at the party. The party and the coloring sheets were a big hit with the kids. Even some of the parents stayed late just to color. Over the years, the collection of sugar skull illustration began to grow, and the neighborhood kids looked forward to coming over for the annual Dia de los Muertos party.
The following year, Mira created a life-size paper skeleton, which she buried in a mock graveyard outside for a party game. She had the kids dig through piles of leaves in the yard to find all the bones. Then the kids brought the pieces inside to assemble the skeleton. It too was a hit.
Mira decided that the collection of sugar skull illustrations and the life sized skeleton might be useful to teachers, so she placed it on a teachers resource website, where she sold hundreds of copies over the next year. As a published author, Mira thought the components would make a fun coloring book for kids to enjoy worldwide. What started as a party game for the local author, has now turned into an Amazon best-seller.
The Day of the Dead Coloring Book features ten original sugar skulls designs that can be colored in and used to string banners, decorate an alter, make masks, or for a cultural activities in the classroom. A blank skull template is provided for artists who want to create their own designs. Also included is a 4’ child life-sized skeleton. The skeleton takes up about ten pages of the book and can be colored in, cut out and assembled by a child. The life-sized skeleton is perfect for Halloween decorations, party games, or even an anatomy lesson.
Teachers who want to use the book as a classroom resource will find that they can cover lessons in social studies, world cultures, art, and anatomy. Additionally, coloring and assembling the skeleton as a class is a great team-building activity. Students absolutely love creating their own sugar skulls and building the skeleton. Rave reviews have been pouring in from teachers who use this activity in their classrooms. Mom’s who home school are also enjoying the Day of the Dead Sugar Skull Coloring Book.
The Day of the Dead Sugar Skull Coloring Book is available on Amazon. For more information about the book, please visit Lucid Publishing’s website: www.lucid-hawaii.com.
