Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s unite our energies, knowledge, and diverse skills, unleashing our creativity, adding our individual zing to sharing bookjoy and creating a nation of readers.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.



Happy Birthday Dia!

Today I am at the Valencia Library in Tucson. My thanks to ALSC that sponsored my visit to the city in which the Día idea came to me. I remember the moment at the University of Arizona campus so clearly and remember the support of my Latino University of Arizona friends, many members of REFORMA, who quickly supported the idea.


Deep thanks to all the Día supporters around the country who have worked so hard this month to share bookjoy with America's diverse families and children. A special thanks to my web team, Laurina Cashin and Bobbie Combs, Día Dynamos who have worked tirelessly on our blog Díapalooza and who have helped produce Idea Booklet for a Día Year. We hope you will print and read this pdf and put it in your Día file to assist you in your Día planning for next year.

Let's celebrate niños y libros, children and books, throughout the year!

Click here for the full Visual History of Día

Send Us Your Photos!

We welcome a photo or two of your 2011 Día event to use in a video of national 15^th Anniversary Celebrations on http://www.patmora.com/. We’re gathering photos that focus on the literacy-related aspects of your Día event – author readings, story-hours, book parades, book making, etc. Please send jpegs only.

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s boldly plan together for Día’s 20th Anniversary expanding Día’s impact and thus uniting our too-often divided country, uniting for the well-being of all our children. 

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

15 Día Nuggets: #15 Bookjoy Quotes

Our last Día Nugget -- enjoy!

15 Día Nuggets for Día’s 15th Anniversary

#15 Bookjoy Quotes

1. I think its fun to read a dog story to my dog. Katelyn, 8

2. I love reading because it is so relaxing. Kyra, 7

3. I love to read because I enjoy getting lost in stories. It takes me away from reality for a while, and that is truly a blessing! Jean, 45

4. My books are portable and can go anywhere - the biggest benefit of all is you can read them as many times as you like! Kermit, 72

5. I am happy when the story isn’t scary. Julia, 3

6. Bookjoy (or the pleasure of reading) means turning off the outside world and escaping into a universe that I choose. Karen, 45

7. I like reading cause you get to read cool books and learn cool things. Paige, 9

8. MY favorite time to read is after everyone has gone to bed -- a good book can take me to places of adventure - of peace - of beauty - I'm only limited by my own imagination. What a great way to end the day! Diana, 50

9. I like to read because I get smart. Keane, 5

10. Well, reading is how you hear about interesting stuff. Gavin, 7

11. Reading is fun because it brings me to a whole new world. John, 10

12. I love (she drew a heart) books because there are adventures and magic and fantasy and I feel like it is happening right in front of me! Lucie, 9

13. I like books because you get captured in the book. Sam, 9

14. I love reading because if helps me with my writing and gets my imagination flowing. Drew, 16

15. Because I like to pretend I'm a librarian. Lauren, 5

All 15 Nuggets are archived and also available as a downloadable pdf.

Día at Spanglish Baby and Arizona State University

So many places to celebrate Día!

Roxanne Soto at Spanglish Baby  is sponsoring a Bilingual School Library Contest in honor of Día's 15th Anniversary. The winning library will receive $500 worth of bilingual and Spanish language books donated by publishers. Entries close May 8, 2011; read more details here.

On April 30 Arizona State University will host its first Día de los Niños/Día de Los Libros Literacy Celebration for students from across Arizona. “A variety of reading/writing activities are planned for our student guests, such as book making, bookmark making, poetry writing, oral storytelling workshops and much more,” said Tracey Flores, a teacher consultant with ASU’s Central Arizona Writing Project, sponsor of the event. Several authors are joining the event. Read more here.
  

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s rejoice that Día, this family literacy initiative that works to honor children and to connect them to books, languages and cultures, has grown for 15 years and continues to grow and flourish.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Thank You!

In these final days of celebrating Día's 15th Anniversary, I wish to thank particular organizations and publishers who helped Spread the Día Word this year. Gracias to those listed below and special thanks to my Día partners REFORMA: the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking and the Association of Library Service to Children, (ALSC) a division of the American Library Association (ALA.)

I hope that the list of organizations that promote Día keeps growing and growing. Spread the Día Word!

photo by Michelle Brea

In alphabetical order:

Arte Público Press
California State Library
Charlesbridge Publishing
Children’s Book Press
Cinco Punto Press
HarperCollins Children’s Books
National Association for the Education of Young Children
National Council of Teachers of English
New Mexico Governor’s Office
State Library of North Carolina
Paper Tigers
Random House Children’s Books
Reading is Fundamental (RIF)
Southeast REFORMA Chapter
Texas State Library and Archives
United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)
University of Arizona Press
WETA (Colorin Colorado and Reading Rockets)

Día Poster Artist Maya Gonzalez

My thanks to Maya Gonzalez for her enthusiasm about Día and for creating this wonderful Día poster.




Maya writes about creativity, the Dia poster and her work:

"My name is Maya Gonzalez. I am an artist, author and educator. I’ve made art for 20 multi-cultural children’s books and written two of those. I’ve also created Claiming Face/Self-Empowerment Through Self-Portraiture: An Educator’s Guide to Building the Powerful Link Between Creativity and A Sense of Self and Gender Now Coloring Book/A Learning Adventure for Children and Adults for Reflection Press. I’ve taught and played and lectured in schools, universities, libraries and conferences. I also make a lot of my own art!

For as long as I can remember I have been a creative beast. Creativity is my life. My blood. A way of being and perceiving the world. I have come to know that we are all artists. It is our birthright and our greatest resource in all of life and it connects us to the power of nature. This is why I am so committed to working with educators to bring creativity as a tool into the classroom for all of our children, but especially our children of color. Over my many years of going into the classroom as an artist working with children, my curriculum called Claiming Face evolved.

I tell kids how I remember being 4 and drawing my round Chicana face on the blank pages in the backs of books. I didn’t find my face in books as a child, but I knew in my heart that we belonged there and that we need to see ourselves. That’s why I teach kids to create images of their selves. I co-founded a press with my husband called Reflection Press to further this work. Our motto is “a people should not long for their own image.” Something happens deep inside of us where there are not always words, when we hold a book or a piece of art in our hands and we can see ourselves reflected back. When I was asked to do the ALA poster for El Dia, I portrayed a grandmother sharing a special moment with many important aspects of life that support and sustain us. These include reading, nature and community with children from many different cultural backgrounds to reflect all the different ways we are.

I began making books in 1995, just in time for El Dia de los Ninos/El Dia de los Libros to take hold in this country in 1997. (Thank you for rooting this perfect tree here Pat Mora!) What a great event. I have celebrated it in schools and libraries for so many years I cannot remember the first. In my imagination it has always existed. I can say though that I would have LOVED this as a child. I was just in Sacramento this month celebrating, telling tales and making art with generous and brilliant children creating portraits of themselves as owls! So wise, so able to see in the dark! And for a moment, surrounded by the big library, the books and owl art and kids and all of life, I felt completely at home. "

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s gather together when possible to re-excite one another about Día’s potential to enrich lives and strengthen families and communities.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

15 Día Nuggets: #13 Pat's Vision for Día's Future

15 Día Nuggets for Día’s 15th Anniversary

#13 Pat’s Vision for Día’s Future

In April 2016, the 20th Anniversary of El día de los niños / El día de los libros, Children’s Day / Book Day (Día), literacy advocates committed to sharing bookjoy will celebrate reaching these 15 goals.

1. Like Mother’s Day (May) and Father’s Day (June), Children’s Day/Book Day (April), becomes a national tradition.

2. Día is included on annual library, school and literacy calendars.

3. Educators (teachers, librarians, professors, administrators, those involved in informal education at museums, community agencies) partner enthusiastically with diverse families as literacy advocates throughout the year.

4. Educators and families diversify their library collections to reflect America’s rich cultural reality.

5. State library associations, state libraries, school districts, teacher and librarian preparation programs, and community agencies promote and support Día’s development on an annual basis.

6. The number of Día celebrations in schools, libraries and community centers grows steadily, celebrations that are truly culminating literacy celebrations of a daily commitment to link all children to books, languages and cultures.

7. Distributing free books to build home libraries is a popular component of community-based Día celebrations.

8. Middle schools celebrate El día de los jovenes, Teen or Young People’s Day, which can include middle schoolers as literacy mentors.

9. Realizing the relevance of Día to their educational mission, colleges and universities create service projects with Día, a literacy tradition, as a theme.

10. Publishers join the Día parade by designing Día materials and supporting Día’s goal of promoting reading.

11. ALA/ALSC, Día’s home, creatively increases Día’s national visibility and secures national funding for Día.

12. To ensure Día’s growth, influence and effectiveness, ALA/ALSC creates a strategic National Día Advisory Committee that includes ALSC, other youth and family-serving ALA divisions, REFORMA, Día’s founder, NCTE and other national literacy partner organizations, and media and corporate representatives.

13. Día increases the visibility and membership of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, Pat’s first organizational partner.

14. All who believe in Día’s goals of celebrating children and sharing bookjoy become bold advocates in the National Día Community creating partnerships and networks to increase Día’s impact.

15. Día strengthens and unifies America’s communities by growing a nation of reading families, essential in a democracy.

One Nugget remains! At the end of this week all 15 Nuggets and 30 Reflections will be available as a single pdf for downloading.

Día Celebration at Zavala Elementary

School Librarian, Lisa Lopez, sent news about her library's  Día celebration.

Snow White in New York

As a campus, we have been celebrating Día’s culminating event by implementing a two-week thematic unit on folk and fairy tales, which commenced with my performance of “Little Red Riding Hood” in both English and Spanish at our school library. Students in grades 3 through 5 have been composing and acting out their own folk and fairy tales of their choice, but with a twist. We have enjoyed plays titled: “Snow White in New York”, “Goldilocks and the Three Donkeys”, “Aladdin and the Magic Lamp”, “Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett”, “La Llorona”, etc. Students have been so excited about storytelling that they have created their own puppets, stages, and props using recyclables! They have presented their tales to the lower grades and to their peers in order to rehearse. During the actual 15^th Anniversary of Día in El Paso, TX students will be performing their tales at the storytelling booth!

Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett

Second graders enjoying Aladdin

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s collaborate: honor the perspectives we each bring, listen with open hearts and minds, respect our varying styles and unite for the well-being and future of our children, our nation’s future.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

The Spirit of Día

A new professional resource, Celebrating Cuentos: Promoting Latino Children’s Literature and Literacy in Classrooms and Libraries, (Libraries Unlimited, 2011) edited by Jamie Campbell Naidoo just released. Colorín Colorado has reprinted the chapter on Día, "The Spirit of Día : Celebrating Cuentos Every Day," co-authored by Jamie with Irania Patterson (Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library.) You can read it here.

Learn more about the book here.

Día in North Carolina

Kenzia Lett wrote about Día events at the Union County Public Library (NC).

Día de los niños/ día de los libros (Day of the Children/ Day of the Book)

Monday, April 25th at 3:00 p.m. @ MARSHVILLE
Don’t miss this celebration of children and books with fun activities and crafts. For ages 5-12. English/Español

Fiesta de día de los niños - Children’s Day Party!
Monday, April 25th at 4:00 p.m. @ WAXHAW
Celebrate Día de los niños/ Día de los libros with a fiesta! Books, music, crafts, and a piñata will make for a súper divertido (super fun) time!

Criss, Cross Mangosauce performs in celebration of Día de Los Niños/ Día de Los Libros
Tuesday, April 26th at 3:30pm @ Union West Regional
This is an interactive performance that makes children move and sing in both English and Spanish, using a combination of traditional Latin rhythms and classic American children’s rhymes. All ages invited for a fun and musical time!

My Garden: Growing Readers/Mi Jardín: Cultivando Lectores
Thursday April 28 at 4:00 pm @ Monroe
Join us for our Día de los Niños/ Día de los Libros (Day of the Children/ Day of the Book) celebration. Kevin Henkes’ My Garden sets the stage for this bilingual and nature-inspired program. Kids will have fun learning Spanish words and how to plant a flower. They will also take part in creating a special art project for our May bulletin board! For ages 4-9. Receive a free packet of flower seeds to take home and plant!

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s connect in committed circles that form the powerful community-based National Día Community in our city, state, region and country.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Kutztown University Children's Literature Conference

I savor presenting to interested audiences as much as I enjoy writing. Good audiences energize me, and I was certainly energized recently in Pennsylvania. At Kutztown University Children's Literature Conference, I was fortunate to hear and visit with Jerry Pinkney, Linda Sue Park and Beth Krommes. I don't get to listen to authors and illustrators that often, so that alone was a treat. I also had the pleasure of speaking to three different audiences: second graders, university students and faculty, and area teachers and librarians. How excited these professionals and pre-service teachers were to hear about Día. "We'll do this!" they'd say enthusiastically. I felt surrounded by warm and friendly people, mostly women, who loved reading and wanted to share bookjoy.

Soon, Día's 15th Anniversary will end, and I'll be delighted to return to writing carrying some of that PA good-will with me.

Día Anniversary Celebration at ALA Conference

“Many Children, Many Cultures, Many Books: Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of El día de los niños/El día de los libros” will take place during the ALA Annual Conference on Saturday, June 25th, at 10:30 am, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Join us for the 15th anniversary celebration of Día! Hear from Día founder, Pat Mora, one of Día’s first supporters, Oralia Garza de Cortes, and Dia author Jeanette Larson. Also presenting will be Julie Corsaro, ALSC President, and Lucia Gonzalez, REFORMA President. REFORMA is the Founding Partner of Dia. Learn effective multicultural programming techniques for year round Día celebrations, and explore new Día resources.

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s see ourselves as central rather than peripheral, as a force for positive change that welcomes ideas for expanding and deepening Día’s work.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s remember that though change is slow, people and institutions can change; our challenge is to be persistent, effective advocates.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

D I A Spells Día

Two Día Dynamos are Laurina Cashin and Bobbie Combs who are my web team. They also generously donate some of their time to help me promote Día. At the beginning of the year, I received a package in the mail from my team. I opened it slowly and stared at the three letters below. Being a bit dense, I first arranged the beautiful letters decorated with art from BOOK FIESTA as A I D. Oh yes, thought I, Laurina and Bobbie do aid me. Very sweet. As I looked more carefully at Rafael López' art, I suddenly thought, OH! The letters spell Día. I was stunned at all the work and at the thoughtfulness. I then spotted the message, "For our friend Pat in honor of Día's 15th Anniversary." How sweet is that?

* Letters were created from a f & g of Book Fiesta!

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s praise leaders who become Día champions because they are committed to assisting all children to become learners.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

A Million Friends for Día

My good friend Joseph Rodriguez, a Día Dynamo who lives in Austin, sent me this video link some months back. I so liked the catchy music and the words Roberto Carlos is singing. The lyrics say that he doesn't want to sing alone. He wants a million friends to sing with him enlarging his singing. The words made me think of Día. (I know. Many things make Pat think of Día.) Día needs a million friends to enlarge its impact, its "song" too. Are you one of Día's friends?

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s propose innovative solutions to predictable resistance to change and increase Día’s growth and impact.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Día in Santa Barbara

Recent Mora Award winner, the Santa Barbara Public Library System celebrated its third annual Día  De Los Libros Celebration on Saturday, April 16, 2011. The Junior League of Santa Barbara was the library's partner.


Events were held at the Santa Barbara Central Library in the Library Plaza and Faulkner Gallery and featured nationally recognized storyteller Olga Loya and local storytellers Kirk Henning and Joseph Velasco. The Brazilian Cultural Arts Center of Santa Barbara performed Afro-Brazilian dance and music. In addition, local youth mariachi and dancing groups performed.

Thanks to generous sponsors, children received free books and refreshments were served.

Día 2010

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s commit to developing programs that assist parents of our diverse families to become effective literacy mentors, our partners. 

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s involve children as presenters in our various literacy events and at Día book fiestas and celebrate our children’s talents. 

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Yolo County, 2010 Mora Award Winner, Celebrates Dia

Submitted by Lana Harman, Yolo County Public Library.

This year Yolo County Library will be celebrating Día de los Niños / Día de los Libros at two of its largest branches, the Stephens-Davis branch (service population - 65,000 people) and the Arthur F. Turner Community Library in West Sacramento (service population - 48,000 people). Yolo County, located in North Central California, is the definition of diversity: in addition to being both rural and urban, it is multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural. Almost a third of Yolo County residents (32.1%) speak a language other than English at home. More than 20% were born outside of the United States. 26% are of Latino or Hispanic origin. Spanish is the main second language in rural areas but in big cities like Davis and West Sacramento there are large groups of Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese), Russian, Hmong, Farsi, Hindi, and Urdu speakers. Here in Yolo County we are truly the world and Día de los Niños / Día de los Libros, with its celebration of literacy in many languages, is a community building experience above all.

Both Yolo County Library's Día celebrations are scheduled for Saturday, April 16th. The Stephens-Davis Branch Library will start the festivities at 10 in the morning and will pass the baton on to the Arthur F. Turner Community Library later in the day. The programs will be similar yet different. Both branches will have a presentation by the bilingual author of children's books Jorge Argueta and a group art project facilitated by Maya Christina Gonzalez, a renowned illustrator of children's books. Maya Christina visited the Arthur F. Turner Community Library last year for the 2010 Día celebration and presented part of her "Claiming Face" curriculum. Children's books must reflect the diversity of their young readers - not just in subject but also in illustrations and Maya Christina's curriculum reinforces this thought.

There will be dancers, of course! - it's not a fiesta without music and dancing! Young dancers from the Chinese School of Davis will show traditional Chinese dances in Davis, and Folklorico Latino de Woodland will delight the visitors in West Sacramento. Face-painting, crafts, tortillas (made to order!) and story times will add to the festivities and are sure to be crowd-pleasers!

Building home libraries as a resource for family literacy is one of the goals of our Día celebrations and more than 400 books will be distributed to the children who attend the events. Public libraries are also an important resource for family literacy and we expect library card sign-ups to double or triple during the celebrations.

We couldn't have prepared such a magnificent program alone. Our sincere thanks go out to the Mora Family for the Estela and Raúl Mora Award that we received last year for an outstanding Día celebration at the Arthur F. Turner Community Library. We are proud of the recognition and we hope to continue on this path of excellence for years to come. We are also thankful to our partners who helped us get ready for this year's Día: First 5 Yolo, IMLS, Friends of the Stephens-Davis Library, Friends of the West Sacramento Library, the Rotary Club of West Sacramento, the California Gold chapter of REFORMA, and the Interact Club of the River City High School. Our volunteers are numerous and very enthusiastic. Our staff members have been working very hard to put together both events. Because of all the hard work by our partners, volunteers, and staff members, we can say with confidence, "It's going to be a great Día!"

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s encourage and assist all families to build home libraries, to celebrate Día annually at home, and to take pride in being reading families. 

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

15 Día Nuggets: #14 Día Dynamos

I encourage Día organizers throughout the country to contact the amazing Día Dynamos for ideas and advice.  They are treasures.

15 Día Nuggets for Día’s 15th Anniversary

#14 15 Día Dynamos

Congratulations to these Día Dynamos, literacy leaders throughout the U.S. who for years have invested significant time and creative energy on expanding Día’s impact. These Dynamos are outstanding resources for others working in similar positions.

1. Flo Trujillo, Youth Services Coordinator
Farmington Public Library (NM)

2. Ana Schmitt, LIBROS Group
Multnomah County Library (OR)

3. Beatriz Pascual Wallace, Children's Librarian
Seattle Public Library (WA)

4. Laurina Cashin & Bobbie Combs, Pat’s Web Team
We Love Children's Books (MD)

5. Rose Treviño, Librarian, deceased but not forgotten
Formerly Houston Public Library (TX)

6. Oralia Garza de Cortes, Latino Children's Literature Consultant (TX)

7. Elva Garza, Regional Operations Branch Manager
Austin Public Library (TX)

8. Meryle Leonard, Outreach Manager/ Community Engagement Department
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (NC)

9. Lucia Gonzalez, Author, Storyteller, Librarian (FL)

10. Jeanette Larson, Consultant, Trainer, and Writer (TX)

11. R. Joseph Rodriguez, Ph.D., Center for Teaching and Learning
The University of Texas at Austin (TX)

12. Lydia Breiseth, Manager, Colorín Colorado
WETA (VA)

13. Mark Smith, Administrator
Riverside County Library System (CA)

14. Alma Ramos-McDermott, Media Specialist
Pollard Middle School (MA)

15. Sara Howrey, Literacy Advocate, (KY)
                        and
Lise Tewes, Head of Children's Department
Erlanger Branch, Kenton County Public Library, (KY)

To assist those of you planning Día celebrations at your schools, libraries, etc., we’re sharing 15 Día Nuggets, 15 lists of 15 items to assist you in your planning. All 15 Nuggets are available as completed on Pat's web site, individually and as a single downloadable packet.

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s design Día programs and celebrations that—though they may include food, music, dancing and prizes—create positive and memorable literacy experiences for attendees.

 
I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s assist school and public libraries to diversify their collections to reflect our national diversity and global connections. 

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s remember that effective advocates need to endure the challenges of learning new skills; in Día’s case: partnership building, fund raising, marketing, publicity, public speaking, social networking, true collaboration.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Colorín Colorado Videos

My deep thanks again to Lydia Breiseth and her team at WETA for sharing these video clips.  Colorín Colorado has been an outstanding Día supporter.



View  recent interview with Colorín Colorado.

Visit Dia resources on Colorín Colorado's website.

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s create Día planning communities locally and nationally that reflect the diversity we espouse, and let’s invite social service agencies, the media, the young and seniors to enrich our work.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

NCTE Supports Día

From April 5 issue of the NCTE Inbox:

Celebrate El día de los niños / El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day)

In its 2005 Resolution, NCTE supports El día de los niños / El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) because the day recognizes that students who participate in culturally and linguistically diverse literacy activities at home, in school, and in the community are more successful readers. Use the ReadWriteThink calendar entry and celebrate Día on April 30!

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s thank and celebrate our partners again and again.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Día Events in New Mexico and San Francisco

Flo Trujillo at the Farmington Public Library and Barbara VanderBorght at San Francisco Public Library sent in news about Dia events.

Día events throughout the month of April in New Mexico are a kick off to Summer Reading at NM libraries!

Libraries, community centers, 21st Century afterschool, Boys & Girls Clubs and faith-based communities along with New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez recognize the importance of literacy.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For the San Francisco Día 2011, we will be at the Main Library for our big celebration on April 24. Putting the event together this year was a challenge, as the downturn in the economy had a big effect: planning group members had to drop out, no new funding came in and there was a big increase in permit fees as we attempted to go back to our community park location, but we were determined to make Día happen!

Using remaining funds, trimming our operating costs and with the free use of the Library, we are putting on a celebration that still features wonderful multiethnic performances; our Spanish bilingual child/family issues radio hosts; literacy based hands-on art activities and a children’s book giveaway for all participants.

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día

Let’s question our assumptions about how to reach our goals and who our appropriate partners can be.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Cinco Puntos Press Celebrates 25 Years and Día

We asked Lee Byrd to talk with us about publishing, creativity and Día.  
My name is Lee Byrd. My husband Bobby and I are both writers. In 1985, we started Cinco Puntos Press. Funny, how things start, take root and grow—we were sick and tired of working for other people, we had three kids to support, and we wanted more time to write. (If you need more time to write, don’t start a publishing company!) We had no idea what publishers did, but luckily we had a lot of friends whose work we admired who weren’t getting published; and we had another friend who knew how to design books.

Our first book was Winners on the Pass Line, a collection of short stories by Dagoberto Gilb; our second, a book of poems by Joe Somoza. Then we met Joe Hayes. He was traveling all over the Southwest telling stories to kids. They loved him! We asked him if we could publish a book of his and he said it would have to be La Llorona / The Weeping Woman because that was the story the kids wanted to hear the most. And we would need to do it in a bilingual format because that was the way he liked to tell stories. Thus began our journey into children’s literature. Twenty-five years have passed and we’re still learning, each book—whether for kids or adults—taking us into new and miraculous territory.

Publishing is very creative work. Like writing, it’s a marvelous act of self-discovery. A manuscript comes to us. We love it. We see it opening up new doors of understanding to readers. But how to present it, how to get it illustrated or designed and who will do that? Who is the audience and how best to present it to that audience? When the book arrives from the printer, we all feel like its proud parents. It’s such a creative and collaborative process, no one knows exactly where his or her work started and where someone else picked it up.

At Cinco Puntos, we love El día de los niños, El día de los libros because we see the festivities surrounding it and the excitement that the kids have as a way of raising up the next generation of readers, who will, hopefully, read books that we—and our colleagues in this incredible work—have created.

John, Lee and Bobby Byrd

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día.

Let’s attend and support an annual Día celebration and experience the joy of honoring children and of linking children and families to books.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

For many years, Jeanette Larson has been helping Día grow, and now she has completed El día de los ninos/El día de los libros: Building a Culture of Literacy in Your Community Through Día, published by ALA Editions.  Gracias, Jeanette.

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día.

Let’s reach out to new partners including elected officials, school administrators and faculty preparing future librarians and teachers.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día.

Let’s explore new ways to share what we’ve learned or are trying to implement.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

Today's Día Reflection

Day by day, día por día.

Let’s learn together to be more compelling in articulating the importance and relevance of our goals to our various communities.

I'm posting a Reflection each day during April in honor of Dia’s 15th Anniversary. All thirty Reflections will be available as a downloadable pdf at the end of the month.

15 Día Nuggets: #12 Día Literacy Games

To assist those of you planning Día celebrations at your schools, libraries, etc., we’re sharing 15 Día Nuggets, 15 lists of 15 items to assist you in your planning. This month during our second Díapalooza, we’ll finish with Nuggets 11, 12, and 13; showcase the 15 Día Dynamos, and share Bookjoy quotes from kids, our final Nugget.


All 15 Nuggets are available as completed on Pat's web site, individually and as a single downloadable packet.

15 Día Nuggets for Día’s 15th Anniversary

#12 Día Literacy Games

Winners receive books, of course.


1. Book Bingo
2. Book games based on games from other countries such as a book lotería
3. Book Walk rather than Cake Walk
4. Piñata celebration adding a book connection
5. Charades using book titles or familiar book characters
6. Día–themed word search or crossword puzzles
7. Book-themed scavenger/treasure hunt
8. Matching games using book covers
9. Name the Story or Name the Character based on a series of clues or from passages from various books
10. Snag a Book: game using an extended grabber for book prizes
11. Who’s the Villain: (safe) dart game in which the target is a picture of different “villains” in children’s books
12. Name the Famous Characters: identify children’s book characters on a poster
13. Wheel of Fortune with book connection: Land on a villain and lose points
14. Tape Your Book in the Book Return: like Pin the Tail on the Donkey but blind-folded children tape the book cover they created on a book return image
15. Timed word-making contest: Children and families race to make as many words as possible from Book Fiesta! Celebrate Children's Day, Book Day/ Celebremos El día de los niños, El día de los libros