Coco: A Story about Music, Shoes, and Family

by Diana López

Inspired by Pixar Animation Studios' latest film, Coco, this middle grade novel retells the story of Miguel's daring adventure, and features exciting new scenes about his family.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Adventure, Childrens, Audiobook, Hispanic

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2017

About the author

Diana López is the author of numerous middle grade novels, including Confetti Girl and Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel. She also wrote the middle grade adaptation of the Disney/Pixar film Coco. Diana is a lifelong resident of Corpus Christi, Texas and works with various nonprofits to mentor new writers.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired by the movie Coco, López has written a heartfelt adaptation that adds much to the story's bittersweet mystery and romance. The hardback book is physically beautiful with papel picado illustrations at the beginning of each chapter and marigold and navy borders to separate the lands of the living and the dead. This can be enjoyed independently from the movie. Readers will appreciate the family tree, but don't look at the chart at the back unless you know how the book ends! A lively middle grade novel with a great message about family.

[Alme (Narradora de libros) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pronto reseña pero les diré que me ha encantado este libro 💙

[Millie (Gears) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe I’m biased because Coco was the last movie my granddad took me to see at the cinema before he passed away, (ironic considering the subject matter of the book I know), but I loved it.

There’s not much to say, it’s a novelisation of the film so if you’ve watched Coco, then you’ve essentially read this book since it’s all the exact same. Having watched the movie reading the scenes and being able to remember what the movie scenes looked like was fun.

I don’t have much to say other than it’s a moving story and it brings back good memories of my granddad so it will always make me happy.

[Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great novelization of the movie, Coco. This book is a richly detailed retelling of the movie (though the book was out before the movie was). I absolutely loved the movie, and what I liked about this book is that it's a great story that gives readers more insights about Miguel and his family, as well as more details into the celebration of The Day of the Dead. Which I loved getting to know more about both from this book and the movie. Like the movie, this book centers on family; what it means to be a family, the love and strength and support that comes from being a family, and more. It's a great read whether or not you've seen the movie, though I highly recommend seeing the movie!

FULL REVIEW https://mundiekids.blogspot.com/2017/...

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this with my kids. They all loved it (ages 16 to 6). I would have given it 5 stars if there had been music.

[Storm Arashi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, best novelization Disney/Pixar has released so far for one of their films. This one was on a more advanced level (being middle grade) and provided some extra scenes and characterization for other members of the cast that we did not get. Some scenes were altered to lengthen them and provide new gags, others were added.

Honestly it was very enjoyable to see the author take such liberties such as doing some chapters in the past showing how the family was in the past and showing how certain characters got to be the way they were.

Well done.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait to see the movie. The premise is so creative, the characters are so alive, and the visual will surely be stunning- this is one title where I feel the movie will be just as good as this awesome book. The Day of the Dead is such a special and beautiful celebration of those who have lived before us, and this story does a great job of explaining it to children and adults alike.

[E. G. Arboleda · Rating 5 out of 5]

“No amount of stuff can equal a loved one’s memory”

[Wee Lassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh God - and I thought the film could make me sob. A book that perfectly captures the spirit of the film as well as adding a whole new range of fascinating details. Well worth the read.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like the movie.

[Mohamad Issa · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10
Writing 3/5, Story 4/5

[Kokoro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Desearía darle 5 estrellas pero no me gusto del todo.

La historia de Miguel por convertirse en músico a pesar de la oposición de su familia debido a un incidente ocurrido generaciones atrás me gustó en la película, aunado a la ambientación del día de muertos, música y ese final, fue una buena experiencia, convirtiéndose en una de las favoritas del público e incorporándose en las actividades a realizar para muchos el 1 y 2 de noviembre, o al menos en mi caso.

En parte por ello fue buscar alguna novelización que sirva de acompañante a la película, existen dos, esta tiene más paginas por lo cual se desarrollaría mejor la adaptación, pero tras leerla no me ha convencido del todo, especialmente por los siguientes tres puntos:

Capítulos y párrafos dedicados en su totalidad a personajes y sus vivencias que siento no aporta nada a la historia original. Sinceramente hubiese preferido algo dedicado al pasado de esos dos, y no lo que ocurre con la familia mientras buscan a Miguel.

Algunos errores o diferencias menores, según se vea, con respecto a la película.

El (mal) uso de palabras o pequeñas frases en español, la autora a pesar de su nombre y apellido que predispone a pensar es de origen latino o se le está olvidando el español o nunca lo aprendió pues comete algunos errores, que de igual manera el o la editor-a pasa por alto.

Si no hubiese visto la película, pensaría es una historia muy buena pero como lo hice me la pasaba preguntándome porque realizaron los cambios antes mencionados.

Temas?
La familia es lo más importante.
No robes, especialmente a los muertos.
Caras vemos, corazones no sabemos.

“When there’s no one left in the living world who remembers you, you disappear from this world. We call it the Final Death.” Hector.

[Oscarito Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.9
Seguramente ya conocen la historia de "Coco" de Disney, aquella pelicula que se volvío famosa el 2017 y complacío a todo un pais( y donde disney quería registrar el dia de muertos como marca propia),una amada por muchos y no tanto por otros, y la verdad es que en pocas palabras, a mi me gustaba mucho esta pelicula y sus canciones las escuchaba casi a diario, por que cuando em enteré de la existencia de este libro me entraron unas grandes ganas de leerlo.
Como es una historia muy conocída por todos,arecera que no hay mucho que decir de ella , pero al contrario, tengo que decir todo de ella, empezando por la prosa: la autora tiene una prosa muy sencilla hasta infantil ,facil de digerír, pero muy emocionante,daba en el clavo para que tu saltaras con la historia, como si en ves de leerla te la contaran en voz alta, lo hacía mas vivo vaya; pero lo que ame sobretodo fue: los interludos; para que tengan una idea, este libro tiene muchas -pero muchas- escenas incluidas s que la pelicula no tiene, entre ellas partes donde Coco era la protagonista, te contaban desde niñez cuando su familia empezaba con el trabajo hasta cuando Miguel nace, fue simplemente hermoso, ya que daba contexto y peso emocional a las escenas de las peliculas.
Pero lo que no me encanto fue justo las escenas musicales, siento que estuvieron algo vacias, digo, no es lo mismo que sentir la emocion en la pelicula que al leerlo,pero a mi me a tocado leer parrafos de otros libros dedicados a momentos musicales(incluso fanfics) donde los autores si saben como crear momentos de ese tipo y en esta ocacion, no me convencio tanto

[Kaitlyn Ngoc · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

Okay hear me out, I absolutely love Coco the movie; in fact, it's my all-time favorite movie. However, that is also largely the reason I think the novel version only deserves 1.5 stars. This is also the very first time I ever found the book less compelling compared to the film (although to be fair, the book was based on the film, not the other way round). The book was the exact description of the film. Yes, the exact description. I couldn't help but feel like Diana Lopez wrote the book by watching the movie and jotting down what happened. No interpretation, no flashbacks, no glimpses into characters' minds. Everything was exactly the same. It was like watching the movie all over again but without the color, the narration, the music. Even the Spanish phrases were used without any footnotes or explanation. If this was not a big problem in the movie because viewers can guess the meaning from the context of the situation and facial expressions and body language of the characters, the mix of English and Spanish in the book was very awkward and even non-understandable in some cases. I don't know but it might also has something to do with having the words pronounced and guessing the meaning?

If you want to get the book for collection purpose, by all means go ahead. But if you read this as a substitute for the movie, please don't. Go watch the movie. You won't regret it.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall the book was a very faithful adaptation of my favorite Pixar movie. It wasn’t quite the same without the music and beautiful animation, but I still enjoyed reading it. There were minor differences in dialogue, actions, and visual details that threw me off at times since I’ve watched the movie so much and I think that kept me from fully enjoying the book as much as I could have.

I did love the extra chapters dealing with Coco’s backstory and the deceased members of the Rivera family’s search for Miguel, but the placement of the “flashback” chapters kind of interrupted the flow of the main story for me. I do wish that there had been a little more background on Héctor when he was alive since he’s my favorite character. For some reason I didn’t seem to love him as much while reading the book. I think I missed Gael García Bernal’s performance too much.

The book itself is very beautiful and I loved the little detail of the papel picado border changing color depending on whether the chapter takes place in the Land of the Living (orange) or the Land of the Dead (blue).

[Robynne Lozier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dont know if this came out before or after the movie did (2017) but it pretty much follows the movie story. I think it probably came out after the movie. The chapter headings have illustrations that came directly from the Movie opening credits. I remember watching the movie on netflix and being in tears at the end. It was such a lovely story.

The only reason I gave this 4 stars is because of all the spanish words being used, many of which did not have a translation. There is also no glossary in this book either.

This is a story about a boy whose family banned music after his great grandfather left home to become a famous musician. He never returned. The boy (Miguel) goes to the Land of the Dead and discovers that the reason his great grandfather never returned home is because he was poisoned. And that someone else stole his songs.

After a few trips to the land of the dead, during the day of the dead celebrations, Miguel brings the truth and music back to the family.

[Nidia · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven’t seen or read it, Coco follows Miguel, a music loving in a family where music is forbidden. On Día de Los Muertos, he decides to prove his worth as a musician and sneaks into the tomb of famous musician Ernesto de la Cruz to borrow his guitar. This act propels him into the Land of the Dead, where he meets his ancestors who he must convince to send him back without giving up his musical dreams.

After reading this novelization, while I do miss the songs, I have to say I love even more than the movie. Lopez gives depth and dimension to the characters that due to medium the film could not. I especially loved the chapters that centered Mamá Coco. To say I was utterly WRECKED is an understatement 😭❤️. Thinking about it now, I could have just had the soundtrack playing while I read it but I probably would’ve been an even bigger mess by the end.

[Heather Desmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coco: A story about music, shoes, and family by Diana Lopez is the novelization of the Disney/Pixar movie Coco. The book takes you through Miguel's family angst involving a strict No Music Rule! The story follows Miguel wanting to perform at the plaza and stealing Ernesto de la Cruz's famous guitar from his tomb in order to perform. Miguel believes that de la Cruz is his relative and that he is borrowing the guitar to prove a point to his family. By taking the guitar Miguel is transported into the Land of the Dead where he meets his family and learns more about his relatives past. Miguel also learns the importance of the ofrenda and family support while on this journey. Lopez takes many artistic liberties in this book and they all work out for the best. Lopez introduces us to a much younger Coco and introduces us to Miguel's grandfather.

The chapter colors throughout the book were a nice feature with yellow borders for the Land of the Living and blue borders for the Land of the Dead. The Papel picado at the beginning of each chapter were also a nice accent. With Dante beginning the Land of the Living chapters and Miguel in skeleton makeup at the beginning of the Land of the Dead chapters.

I typically stay away from novelizations as they tend to be a general summary of the movie. Lopez did an amazing job incorporating the movie script with her extended information about Mama Coco. I thoroughly enjoyed reading more about Coco as a younger person and felt it truly added to the story. The only part of the movie that I missed in this book was the music. Knowing the movie as well as I do, the songs played in my head as I read but seeing the lyrics included would have been a nice touch. I would recommend this story to Disney lovers, middle school readers, and people who enjoy reading about families.

[Katka Olajcová · Rating 5 out of 5]

Znova som porušila svoje pravidlo o čítaní kníh v poradí, v akom som ich dostala (ale to len preto, lebo toto chcem sestre preložiť a dať jej to v máji k meninám), ale neľutujem to.
Videla som film. Prakticky som preplakala posledných 20 minút a potom som ďalších 20 minút po skončení plakala ďalej.
Táto knižka je dokonalá. Je presne ako film a ešte lepšie, pretože ukazuje aj veci, ktoré sa na filmové plátno nezmestili. Ako Coco rada tancovala, ako stretla Julia (vzťah Coco-Julio je dačo, pre čo žijem!), čo robila Imelda, keď zomrela, ako sa narodil Miguel, ako celá rodina hľadala Miguela vo Svete mŕtvych... Bolo to presne úžasné! A presne ako vo filme aj tu som na konci plakala, lebo (a neviem, ako sa to autorke podarilo) to bolo ešte dojemnejšie!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE this story. I watched the movie a dozen times at least, before I heard about the book. I wanted to read the book because it has a bit of backstory of Coco's life as a young woman. The backstory was great. I think this would have been better if I had not seen the movie quite so many times. Most of it is word-for-word like the movie, and as I read I was playing the movie back in my head, complete with score. But then every time something in part of Miguel's story arc was different, with an action being described or a character's speech slightly different, it brought me out of the story.

[Olivia Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored this movie so much, I wanted more information about this world and this family. I was very pleased that we got to see more of Mama Coco’s backstory, and her relationship with her husband, Papa Julio. I also loved the little ‘in-between’ scenes; the scenes that happened in between the scenes in the movie. The only thing keeping this sweet story from 5 stars is that we never find out more about Tia Victoria. She was Mama Coco’s daughter, so I expected at least a line about how much Mama Coco missed and mourned her own child. But overall, if you (or your child) liked the movie Coco, then this book is a very sweet tie-in.

[Laurie Oetzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was incredible!

I was thrilled to see a Coco back story with multiple point of views! I finished this book in two nights because of how the fantasy of the story came to connect with my own life. I highly reccomend this title to anyone that likes upsetting stories. Thank you!

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I watched the movie Coco recently so when I saw that there was a book about Coco I decided to pick it up. I enjoyed the book and the movie a lot. This would be a great book to read for a bedtime story for little kids especially those who enjoyed the movie Coco. There are a few scenes in the book that weren't in the movie that added more of a back story to the story that I enjoyed.

[Braulio SolHer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha encantado este libro, si bien es la película hecha un libro la edición es muy bonita, con sus páginas a color y sobre todo con escenas extras que en la película nunca vemos.
Eso ayuda a entender un poco más la manera de ser de algunos personajes, me ha entretenido y lo he disfrutado mucho... Te hace sentir lo que cada vez que veo la película siento.

[Mat Canary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sentimental. The book, with its overly descriptive and children-book'ish', writing style captured the sweet heartfelt feeling that lies within Coco. Made me wanna tear up. With extra scenes included, the book just felt right, seemed right, felt right— like family.

Listened with its soundtrack and guitar / piano covers, couldn't be more perfect!

[Karen Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encantó ❤️, la historia es muy hermosa. La pluma de la autora te permite adentrarte en la historia de una forma mágica, aunque ya hayas visto la película.
Tal vez no cuenta mucha información extra, pero las poca cuenta vale la pena conocerla.
Sin duda es un libro que recomiendo a quienes disfrutan mucho de esta película.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novelization of Pixar's Coco is meant for a middle grade reading level, so it goes a little more in depth into the backstory than the movie does, and is well worth picking up for that reason alone! (I still cried at the end.)

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy read for an older demographic, but still enjoyable. It adds more to the story with Coco’s past and a few new scenes. A little put off by the present tense narration, but it was easy to overlook and I’m still glad I read it.

[Erin Witt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved seeing the movie but loved reading the boom even more. It provided more details than what the movie discussed, including some of Coco's story and what life was like growing up without her Pàpa in the picture. Definitely will read again and recommend to others who enjoyed the movie!

[Eva-Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5

On the one hand, the writing style annoyed me about ninety percent of the time. But on the other hand, the remaining ten percent was great and I looooved all the added details and the way that Héctor's character was handled made me very happy. (He's my favorite character!)