Coco: The essential guide by Glenn Dakin

DK, 2017. ISBN 9780241288412
Hundreds of young people are going to 'Coco' the latest holiday release from Disney Pixar, the story of a Miguel a young Mexican boy who loves music even though it is banned in his family. On the eve of Dia de los Muertos, the night ancestors return to the Land of the Living, a magical incident takes Miguel to the Land of the Dead where he discovers a family secret that explains the ban.
While Miguel doesn't want to fight his family, music is his passion and he needs to find a way to be able to express it in his home.
This new release from DK enables those young people to explore and understand the movie more thoroughly as it introduces the settings and the characters as it moves through the significant parts of the plot. It even has a double-page spread which sets up Miguel's dilemma - should he follow tradition or should he follow his heart?
One of the surefire ways to get young children to transition between screen and print is to offer them resources that feature their favourite screen characters so there is a feeling of familiarity and connection already, and when those resources enrich and enhance the screen experience as brilliantly as DK do, then they have to be valuable. From the popular sugar skulls which decorate the endpapers through to the vivid, full-colour illustrations, many using graphics from the movie itself, through to the enticing layout, small snippets of information in text accessible to the target audience and a voice that talks directly to the reader, this is a book that will extend the movie experience long after its 100 minutes on the screen.
Common sense media offer a review of this movie (and many others) so parents can determine if it is suitable for their child.
Barbara Braxton