Go on Record: Día Program Registration

Día, El día de los niños,El día de los libros/Children’s Day,Book Day, is a daily commitment: day by day, día por día. Hundreds of annual Día events occur across the country in April. In the spirit of Día, these book fiestas are literacy celebrations that unite communities. Often reading advocates including parents and families collaborate in planning how best to share bookjoy. Join us by insuring that Día is celebrated at your libraries and schools and make sure to promote their local event(s) by registering your program in the 2013 National Día Program Registry. I'm so grateful to ALSC (Association of Library Service to Children)  and REFORMA (National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking) for collaborating with me in expanding Día's impact. In 2013, let's share bookjoy and help grow a nation of readers.

Join Pat for Picture Book Month

November is Picture Book Month and the celebration happens all month long! Today, Pat shares her thoughts about why picture books are important on the Picture Book Month website.

Why are picture books important to you?

Interview With 2012 Mora Award Winner, Lynden Public Library

For the second year, I’m honored to interview the winner of the Estela and Raúl Mora Award on my blog. Congratulations, Tina Bixby and Amelia Martinez, to you and the Lynden Public Library, a branch library of the Whatcom County Library System, WA. I was inspired by every application I read, but I don’t select the winner nor the Honor Awards started this year. Libraries all over the country are curious to know what you did that prompted the REFORMA Mora Award Committee to select your library as the 2012 winner. Deep thanks for designing an April Día celebration that teaches us all that by involving community members in planning the event, together you created a memorable community celebration.

Tell us a bit about yourselves and your library.

Tina: I am from Washington State and have been a librarian for 27 years, mostly working as a children’s librarian. The Lynden Library, where I currently work, is located in northwest Washington State, very near the Canadian border, in a beautiful agricultural area. The Lynden Library is the largest branch in the Whatcom County Library System, serving a community of 11,951, with an almost 9% Latino population.

Amelia: I was born in Mexico and came to U.S. in 1996. I started working for WCLS in June, 2010 as a Public Service Assistant for the Lynden Library. I love helping and working with families and children! I also like learning and sharing new things and participate in events that bring joy to people.

L to R: Alma Hernandez, Amelia Martinez, Tina Bixby, Sandra Ramirez, Brenda Ramirezion

1. How did you first become interested in Día and how long ago was that?

Tina: Our first Día celebration began 5 years ago as a monthly children's program. Our system Children’s Services Department arranged for a local Latino elementary school secretary to volunteer to read a couple of books and do a traditional Mexican craft. The dozen, almost entirely Anglo participants enjoyed the program. The following year was much the same. The summer before our third Día, the Lynden Library hired Amelia Martinez, a Spanish speaking Public Service Assistant. Her presence, language skills and community connections, as well as library outreach to the Migrant Head Start program made a big difference. The first time I met Amelia, I knew that we had to hire her!

Amelia: It was in the summer of 2010. I was working for Washington State Migrant Council and Tina worked for the Library. She was coming to do “story time” at the Head Start. One day, she asked me what kind of children’s celebrations we had in México, we talked about “Día del Niño,” and she told me about her idea. I got very excited and volunteered to help. This is a very special celebration in Mexico, especially in schools. I remember that it didn’t matter if we were poor or rich or if had good grades or not; that day each teacher created a wonderful, fun day for all the students. We had food, games, piñatas, candies, crafts, music, talent shows, plays, and time to share with the whole school, older siblings, friends, etc. It is a very nice memory of my childhood, and it was all about learning.

2. When did you begin to plan your 2012 celebration? Did you work with a team and, if so, who created the team? Was having a team helpful? Challenging?

Tina: Amelia was really the heart of our Día celebration. Familiar with Latino parties, she knew exactly what was needed to attract the Latino crowd that we were hoping to draw in and make the children feel very special. A cake and a piñata were essential! I worked more on the fundraising, shopping and administration side of the planning.

Amelia: We started planning it in September 2011. We were working on another program “Family Literacy Fiestas,” and we talked to the participants about our next program (Día). They all got very interested and excited talking about their own experiences. We asked them if they would like to participate and most of them said, “YES.” We have a very nice group of Latino high school students who come to help us at different events, so they came too. And when the time got closer, we started inviting other patrons, and most of them wanted to help! Having a team was WONDERFUL!

During the planning, it was a little bit challenging because of our budget, and because we were sometimes planning this during working hours. All our co-workers were great, asking how things were going, covering desk time when we needed to make phone calls or talk to volunteers, etc.

This was the other challenge; we couldn’t have all the volunteers present in our planning meetings – some were students, mothers, workers, childcare providers, etc. Everybody had different schedules, so we had to divide the work into sections – set up, crafts, learning activities, games and entertainment, kitchen, etc.

At the end, it was a lot easier than we expected, because everybody knew what they were doing; they met each other and worked as a team instantly. We all had our hearts in the event. We were happy, even when the piñata rope kept breaking because it was overloaded with candies. All dads helped.

It was WONDERFUL having everybody helping, feeling that this was their event!

3. What do you think made your 2012 celebration special?

Tina: The community involvement – Día was a celebration created by the Latino community to celebrate children and books.

Amelia: Everything, the sponsors, the Library, the volunteers, the participants, the “purpose.”

4. How do you and your library feel about winning the Mora Award?

Tina: Elated! We never thought we would win the award, but we knew we had to share our success story with REFORMA and Pat Mora.

Amelia: We are all surprised and excited. It is a wonderful and encouraging feeling to continue programs like this one—connecting with people.

5. What did you learn from your celebration this year?

Tina: The amazing things that can happen when you move away from “doing for others” into developing two-way relationships. We have learned to look to the strengths and resources in the Lynden Latino community to create services, programs and library collections that support diversity and families.

Amelia: The importance of “sharing the opportunity of giving” and “connecting with others no matter our racial or social status”. A lot of families gave us different ideas for next year, and they would like to help as well. Children were excited to see their parents interacting with other people they barely met and sharing something good about their culture.

6. What three key pieces of advice would you give to those ready to plan their first Día celebration in spring 2013? Advice to those who have celebrated before?

Tina: Be flexible, allow the program to evolve, nurture relationships

Amelia: To do it from your heart.

To listen to others’ suggestions.

Allow people to help.

7. Why are Día and sharing bookjoy important to you?

Tina: Día is all about books, children and fostering literacy – my passions in life. When children and families really know the joy of sharing books, I know that those children will succeed in life. At our Family Fiesta Literacy program in the library last week, I was playing and reading with the kids while Amelia instructed the adults. I overheard one little boy say to another “Este lugar es muy divertido, no? Muy cool, no?” At the end of a very long day of work, it was exactly what I needed to hear – they filled my day with joy! Bookjoy!

Amelia: Because it connects joy with reading and learning. We would like all families to find reading and learning as positive and happy experiences.

Recommendations for Hispanic Heritage Month

I was born wealthy. I had the good fortune to grow up in a loving, bilingual home in El Paso, Texas. All my grandparents spoke only Spanish. Mom and Dad were bilingual, though, so I always spoke both English and Spanish. Since Mom was a reader, I also had the good fortune to grow up with books in our home, and I enjoyed teachers who read to us at school, visits to the library, the fun of Summer Reading Clubs. Too often today, the word “wealthy” is reduced to money. Well, I was and am rich in family, books, and languages. How I wish I were tri-lingual!


Since sharing is often more fun than having, I like to share bookjoy, la alegría en los libros. I founded Día, El dia de los niños, El día de los libros/Children’s Day, Book Day, as one way for all of us to link all children to books, languages and cultures day by day, día por día. Día celebrations are held throughout the country around April 30th and are fun to plan at home, school, and libraries. I wrote Book Fiesta to show the fun of reading by ourselves, with our family, to our pets and reading everywhere—even in a hot air balloon and on an elephant.

  

I not only love words and languages, I love diversity: the wonder of an array of flowers, birds, and humans, families. I’ll never understand why some are valued more than others. The Hispanic or Latino national community is highly diverse. Some are new arrivals; some families that have lived on the U.S. landscape for generations. Some have ancestors from countries such as Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Peru. Some are dark; some fair. Some Catholic; some Protestant or Jewish. Some speak only Spanish, some only English, some are bilingual.

I was a children’s book author before I noticed: hey, none of the books I read and loved had any characters who looked like me or my family, who spoke Spanish and enjoyed saying both candy and dulces. How children and the young at heart enjoy learning words in other languages! Luckily, many Latino authors are now writing wonderful books for us all. Here are ten of my favorites:

http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/bookfinder/hispanic-heritage-month-booklist/

Thanks to PBS Parents!

Bookjoy Celebrations

Subscribe to Bookjoy Celebrations and Pat's newsletter.

Día Reflections

Last year, to celebrate Día's 15th Anniversary, my web team and I created a down-loadable booklet, Pat Mora's Idea Booklet for a Día Year,  DÍA as in Delight in celebrating children, Imagine your community strengthened by reading families, Affirm the importance of daily sharing bookjoy. We hope you have found the booklet a useful tool with your planning committee. We hope to continue adding to these ideas and welcome your suggestions.

I also wrote 30 Reflections since I believe that to be our most effective in our advocacy work, we need to regularly move between reflection and action, reflection and action, so that we invest our energy in our highest priorities and thus act wisely. Last year, I began the reflections by saying that "day by day, día por día, I invite each of us to read the reflection and then to ponder: how am I doing this in my own life?" I hope you find these thoughts helpful.

 Through Día, share bookjoy!

Let’s see ourselves as part of the National Día Community connected by our commitment to the potential of each child and to the pleasure and power of literacy.

Let’s create regular time to reflect on the importance, challenges and opportunities of Día’s goals.

Let’s remind one another often that Día is a daily commitment and not only an annual celebration.

Let’s creatively make Día fun for ourselves and others.

Let’s champion children and literacy in our daily lives and creatively and concretely introduce Día to potential partners.

Let’s learn what other Día advocates have shared and discovered.

Let’s affirm home languages and diverse cultures.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

April Literary and Literacy Celebrations

April: an exciting literary and literacy month! Look at the varying observances in this Wordle and savor the thought that all over the country diverse people and organizations work to share bookjoy.

Díapalooza!

Welcome to our month-long celebration of Día’s 16th Anniversary and to our third annual Díapalooza! Día advocates are readers who believe that children matter and that books matter. We want every child to experience bookjoy, the pleasure and power of reading. We want all families to be reading families in all languages and cultures.

April is a month with many literary and literacy observances, reminders. Of course, our real literacy work is done all year long, day by day, día por día. This year during Díapalooza we’re featuring the first Día Author & Illustrator Ambassadors  and an alphabet for Día advocates, A-Zing.

I’m looking forward to participating in Día book fiestas in Houston April 21 at Discovery Green and in my home city of El Paso, Texas, April 30th at Burnet and Kohlberg Schools. Thanks to all the committed and energetic literacy advocates who plan and support annual, culminating April Día celebrations across the country. Special thanks to REFORMA members, my first partners in Día , and to ALSC where Día is now housed.

Spring: hope, children, the hope of our world. “Everyone is the age of their heart,” says a Guatemalan proverb. Let’s all be young at heart as we champion the young, let’s creatively share bookjoy.

Enjoy this video of past Día celebrations!

Bookjoy Celebration

El día del amor y la amistad

My favorite translation of Valentine’s Day in Spanish is El día del amor y la amistad, love and friendship day. Doesn’t the addition of friendship make the red-heart-and-sweets-day even more special? Friends have always been an important part of my life: when I was growing up in El Paso, when I taught, and when I was a university administrator. I’m too private to be a Facebook person, but now that I work at home, through phone and e-mail, in addition to my family and long-time friends, I have amigas and amigos who are book friends: authors, illustrators, librarians, educators, members of the publishing world, and my special Día buddies who promote bookjoy all year long. May we cherish those who help us laugh and who believe in us.

photo credit: misfitsalon.blogspot.com

Bookjoy Celebrations

How often do you feel too busy? I seem to feel that way off and on all day. I know: I’m trying to do too much: be present for family and friends, dive into new manuscripts, help promote Día, and share bookjoy, la alegría en los libros. Since I long to send the people I care about a cheerful card occasionally, to lift their/your spirits, this year I'll be sending bookjoy celebrations. Below is the first.

I welcome your collaboration. Send your favorite quotes about reading, books, poetry; brief original poems, a few lines from writing you love, visuals, ideas, etc. to bookjoyATpatmora.com . (We’ll credit you, of course.)

Share Bookjoy all year with friends, family, students, colleagues, children, seniors, neighbors!

Savor Silence?

My New Year’s resolutions always include 1) create more writing time and 2) be a more effective advocate. There’s an inherent tension between these two goals. When I avoid e-mail and devote myself to a writing project, ah! I feel a special pleasure since I relish the time to create on the page, to explore the possibilities of an evolving manuscript. I love to write which for me means: I need quiet.

Some authors manage to write in coffee shops and cafes while I’d stop the refrigerator motor if I could. I savor total silence. A professor who teaches my book, Zing! Seven Creativity Practices for Educators and Students to future writing teachers tells me that the students are most uncomfortable with the second suggested practice: Enjoy quiet. “Really?” I ask surprised. It seems that quiet made the students uncomfortable, nervous. Indeed, their world is probably full of noise--radio, iPods, music in restaurants, elevators, bars, malls; and group sessions in all areas of education and the work place.

A recent article in The New York Times, “The Rise of the New Groupthink,” includes Picasso’s words, “Without great solitude, no serious work is possible.” Eek! Again in 2012, I say to myself, “Pat, you’ve got to create more quiet for writing. Stay off e-mail.”

It’s not that I like e-mail (except with family and friends), but it is my connection to the amazing and committed advocates with whom I have the honor to work.

Human creativity is amazing and given our diversity—introverts/extroverts, tidy/messy, sober/silly, Type A/Type B, etc.—we need varying circumstances to produce our unique work. Important as sharing bookjoy is to me, though, I long to write more and better, so: silence in my future.

What do you need to be creative?

(photo credit: Silence by wickednox1)

Bookjoy at NCTE

As a former English teacher, there’s always something exciting for me about being invited to speak at NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English). I joked with the Random House team (the press that was kind enough to sponsor me) that many teens might shiver at the thought of the two Chicago hotels full of English teachers.

I had the pleasure of preparing for two programs. I say “pleasure” because I love presenting as much as I love writing and because such preparations are opportunities to think, and we all know that creating thinking time can be a challenge. I joined poet Joyce Sidman and two faculty members in offering a master class on “Poetic Voices: Writing, Reading and Responding to Poetry.” Frankly, I seldom have the opportunity to hear another writer, and I so enjoyed hearing Joyce read her fine poems and explain how a poem evolves for her. For the first time, I prepared a PowerPoint of my books of poems and rhymes in the order the books were published. In addition to reading some poems especially from Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems About Love, I asked the audience to think about what voices (and languages) are included in our poetry. I was asking: who belongs in poems and what do poets look like?

I was introduced at the Conference on English (CEL) breakfast by my friend Dr. R. Joseph Rodríguez from the University of Texas. Joseph, a dear friend, often knows my work better than I do. I struggle almost daily to find time to continue my own writing and to promote Día  and family literacy. I seldom consciously sit and think about leadership, also a topic of great interest to me. My title, “Creatively Practicing Resilience: The Zing of Bookjoy” allowed me to address some of my key themes but also to explore potential: our personal potential as leaders, the potential of the literature and literacy field, and the potential of our collaborators.

May we all be bolder and more creative leaders in 2012! Wishing you health, happiness and bookjoy.

In 1986, I was fortunate to receive a Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship, a three-year experience that greatly enriched my life. In 2001, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation published a book entitled, Leading from the Heart: The Passion to Make a Difference. My essay and its introduction are from that book. It’s interesting how many of the ideas in this piece are part of ZING! published in 2010.

Inspiring Sweden

As I mentioned in my September newsletter, last month I spent a week in the beautiful and proudly bilingual country of Sweden. Travel usually includes surprises, and this trip to Stockholm and Uppsala was no exception. At the Stockholm airport, I was pleasantly surprised by photographs of famous Swedish authors—including the children’s book author Astrid Lindgren. The time in Stockholm included a visit to Skansen, an open air museum and zoo. There, in the drizzle, I encountered the geese below as my husband Vern and I visited traditional homes and gardens and chatted with employees dressed in period costumes. Our hosts at each location cheerfully answered questions in Swedish or English giving us a sense of the families that had once lived in the wooden homes with sod roofs.

On the following day, we went back to the island of Djurgarden to visit Junibacken, a fairy tale house that honors the much-loved Astrid Lindgren, author of the Pippi Longstocking books. My youngest is a red-head, so years ago, I gave her some Pippi books. The building was full of children and parents enjoying rooms from Lindgren’s books. Lots of chaos! When Vern and I boarded the “story train,” considered the highlight of a visit, we were asked in what language we would like to hear the audio. No, the sets weren’t slick as U.S. theme parks can be, but I loved the way an entire building was dedicated to connecting children with books through fun, one of our Día goals.

Luckily for me, my husband’s conference hotel in Uppsala was right by Carl Linnaeus' garden.  Remember Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy? I vaguely remembered him, and since I love gardens, I became excited about a visit. What a day I had visiting the museum in what was once his home and wandering the garden rows reading the Latin names he had assigned and that I’ve been learning such as helianthus anus for the annual sunflower variety. What odd comfort to see the familiar Latin names used by gardeners and botanists all over the world. I bought books about Linnaeus whose life and journey now fascinate me. Bookjoy: through print being connected with those in the past whose passions affect our world.

First Graders Talk about Pat's Books

I'm so grateful to Martha Rico, librarian at Hawkins School in my home city of El Paso, Texas. Martha was kind enough to send me the video of her first grade students responding to my books by sending me their messages in Spanish. Isn't that creative and generous of Martha? I asked her the following questions.

1. How long have you been a librarian?

MR: I have been a librarian 10 years.

2. What do you enjoy about the work?
MR: I enjoy being in the library because I work with the whole student body! I enjoy watching the students grow from kindergarten to fifth grade: to watch their likes and dislikes change as well as their personalities. It is especially momentous when a former student who is now in high school or older comes by and says, "I remember when you used to ....". That lets me know I have made a small impact on their lives. I also get to work with the entire faculty on various projects.

3. How do you select the books?
MR: Books are selected through reviews, student/teacher interest and award-winning books.

4. Do you think of yourself as creative?
MR: I wouldn't say I am creative at all. Sometimes I have a really good idea for a project or bulletin board or even for a lesson, but overall I don't consider myself creative.

5. Do you celebrate Día at your library? If not, will you next year? If yes, how do you plan and what happens?
MR: Honestly, I promote Día because our city hosts a big fair, but in the library I haven't done all that much. We usually get an email with all the info about it with a printable flyer that I post outside the library. It usually falls so close to state testing that it gets put on the back burner at my library. I will try to be a better advocate next year.

Hawkins Elementary School

Welcome to My New Bookjoy Creativity Salon

First, let me wish moms and the many who mother (aunts, teachers, friends) a Happy Week for all the caring and support you give. I had a fabulous mom—bright, funny, bilingually articulate, lovely to look at—I could go on and on. To a great extent I’m a writer because of her, her love of reading and books. Lots of bookjoy in our home in El Paso when I was growing up, and I hope lots of bookjoy in the home my three children grew up in, also in El Paso.

Those of you who know my work may be familiar with the aunt we all called, Lobo. All the children in the family called her that, and our friends did too. Though she never had biological children, my siblings and I and our kids were hers. The lady knew how to love and give, give, give—candies, hugs, presents, trips on the train to California, shiny shoes. And, she loved books and knowledge. My first children’s book, A Birthday Basket for Tía is about her, and …. Oh yes, sh,sh, that’s still a secret. Lobo died years ago, but I can still tear up talking about her. She sneaks into book after book, and …. sh,sh. Oh yes, that’s still a secret. A good secret.

Good Books

At the beginning of the year, I received a book from my dear friend Elizabeth Mills, Prospect: The Journal of an Artist by Anne Truitt. I loved this book for so many reasons including the rich and precise vocabulary. I also appreciated how Truitt candidly spoke about her life as an artist and as a mother. I’m reading the two books that preceded Prospect, the final piece of a three volume memoir. I smile that Truitt did become a better writer as she wrote. Gives us all hope, doesn’t it?

Soon, I’m diving into a new book, writing not reading. More on that (and the secret) later.

In my family memoir, House of Houses, I quote the Provencal chanson or French song, “It must have been May morning when the world was made.” Isn’t that how we feel on these soft May days? Wishing you good health and laughter and bookjoy this month.

Click here for photo credit.

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.

This Month's Día DynamoS

Double pleasure. As part of celebrating Día's 15th Anniversary, I've introduced you to 15 Día Dynamos that are archived on my site.

Our grand finale is a Día Dynamo Duo: Sara Howrey and Lise Tewes. These modest women each wanted to decline the recognition to focus attention on her Día colleague and friend. Symbolically, however, they are shining examples not only of their personal commitment and innovative strategies, but they show us how Día leaders create a literacy legacy.

What hope Sara gave me when I met her years ago in the Cincinnati/Northern KY area where I lived for a time. Sara was unstoppable in her determination to involve the public library in creating new partnerships. She also brought attention to Día within ALA nationally. Like all good Día leaders, she created a committee that she nurtured, so that when Sara retired, Lise was ready to bring her talents to assuming that leadership role. Día has grown thanks to these two amazing women who consistently teach and inspire me.
¡Gracias!

Sara Howrey

1. When and how did you become interested in sharing bookjoy?

SH: As a reluctant but competent reader, I didn’t think much about bookjoy until I attended a REFORMA meeting in San Francisco while I was still in library school (2001). At that meeting the REFORMA librarians said it was possible to do bilingual storytime without reading or speaking Spanish. What fun! What a challenge! And, believe me, those librarians demonstrated bookjoy that day as they read a picture book page by page in two languages (English and Spanish). The room was electric with enthusiasm for bilingual storytime. Then I met Pat Mora, and she convinced me we not only have the opportunity but the obligation to share the pleasure of reading with children and adults regardless of their native and home languages. For me, bookjoy began with bilingual picture books, and I still believe bilingual storytimes are the pinnacle of bookjoy today.

2. How did you first learn about Día and what has been your experience with Día?
SH: As soon as I was hired as a children’s librarian and allowed to write a grant for bilingual storytime, I was involved in celebrating El Día. For many years I enjoyed the indescribable rewards of planning and presenting El Día in our tri-state area, which is rich with many nationalities and languages. I treasure my ever-growing list of friends who are always willing to help with Día by reading in their home languages.

3.What are your hopes for Día 2011, Día’s 15th Anniversary?
SH: Wouldn’t it be grand if every single public library and school library in the United States celebrated Día? If not now, when?

4. What helpful tip(s) do you have for those organizing a Día event for the first time?
SH: Make certain your celebration features the joy of literacy in all the home languages of your community. Search for native speakers of foreign languages and select simple bilingual picture books for them to read . . . don’t be afraid to ask these willing and enthusiastic new friends to help with your event. (You can find new foreign language friends everywhere: ethnic bakeries and restaurants, universities, health care centers. Seek and you shall find!)

5.What is your favorite example of Bookjoy as either a child or an adult?
SH: I tutor children with dyslexia and experience bookjoy every time a once-struggling reader begins to read fluently. I’ll never forget the expression on a young man’s face as he truly experienced bookjoy for the first time while reading Heat by Mike Lupica. As he completed a particular passage, he stopped, looked up, and searched my face to see if I had noticed the critical and surprising turn of events in the story. I’m glad I was there to witness his miracle of reading with understanding and pleasure.

6. What are you reading now?
SH: In addition to the books my students are currently reading aloud (Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech, Baseball Great by Tim Green, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien), I am reading:
• Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1. Edited by Harriet Elinor Smith and the editors of the Mark Twain Project.
• Rise to Rebellion: A Novel of the American Revolution by Jeff Shaara.

Lise Tewes

1. When and how did you become interested in sharing bookjoy?
LT: I have always been an avid reader, but I guess my first experience sharing bookjoy was as a mother reading with my 7 children. Reading together was part of our everyday activities, and my children, who now range in age from 26 to 16, still remember their favorite children’s books and the special closeness of those times spent reading together.

2. How did you first learn about Día and what has been your experience with Día?
LT: I first learned about Día through working at the Kenton County Public Library, from my colleague Sara Howrey. Sara was the driving force in the KCPL’s involvement with Día. She organized the first Día celebration at our Covington location in 2004, all on her own. In 2005, Sara joined forces with a neighboring library and the local Catholic Diocese Hispanic Ministry to present a joint Día celebration. I was part of that cooperative event. The partnership with other libraries grew through 2009, including up to 7 different libraries and a dozen community partners celebrating Día at one location together! This experience of networking and supporting each other, financially as well as emotionally, gave us all confidence and commitment to Día. While the partnership has dwindled in the past two years, each library is now offering its own Día event in its own community, so the presence of Día in the Greater Cincinnati area has actually grown.

3.What are your hopes for Día 2011, Día’s 15th Anniversary?
LT: I hope that there can be a greater awareness of the importance of reading with children, in all languages, and that public libraries will take the lead in using Día to promote that important literacy message.

4. What helpful tip(s) do you have for those organizing a Día event for the first time?
LT: Look around your own community. Identify the diverse populations that live in your area and reach out to them. Invite them into the Library and ask them to participate in Día. When people are personally invited they feel welcome and committed. Most people from other cultures and countries are pleased as punch to have an opportunity to share their culture and language with others, and Día can be the way to make that initial contact and let all your diverse populations know what the Library can offer. Find partners in your community who are already working with those target populations, and get them involved. Don’t forget to include your “regular” patrons, who may not represent diversity but who still need to be encouraged to share bookjoy with their children! And network, network, network!

5.What is your favorite example of Bookjoy as either a child or an adult?
LT: I still remember the sound of my first child, barely two years old, “reading” aloud to me! We had read the same book so many times that she had memorized it. She “read” it perfectly, without mistake, and I was the proudest mom on earth! Today, she is a high school English teacher, sharing bookjoy with her students, and I’m still the proudest mom on earth!

6. What are you reading now?
LT: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood. It’s the second book of a new series called “The Incorrigible Children of Aston Place.” It’s very clever and funny!

This Month's Día Dynamo!

Alma Ramos-McDermott is our 14th Día Dynamo, the first who is a school librarian. It's exciting to honor a school librarian who's active in the American Association of School Librarians, (AASL) who has experienced the value of sharing Día, and who is leading the way to connect other school librarians with this family literacy initiative. I met Alma at a YALSA conference in New Mexico last year and was so impressed at her commitment to share bookjoy with all students. As she and I discussed, when working with Middle School students, some Día advocates say: El día de los jovenes y libros, Day of Young People and Books. Some middle schools create Día literacy activities for themselves and some promote literacy at a neighboring elementary school. I hope that we'll hear from many fine school librarians who like Alma want to incorporate Día's goals of linking all children to book, languages and cultures into their planning and to start an annual tradition of planning a culminating celebration with parents on or near April 30th. Gracias, Alma, for enriching Día's work with your enthusiasm.

I. When and how did you become interested in sharing bookjoy?
AR: I was always a loner because my family moved at least twice/year, which made me the “new kid on the block” for my entire K-12 school experience. When I received my first public library card at age 11, a new world opened up for me. I experienced true bookjoy, as books became the friends I didn’t have and the one constant in my life. As a school librarian I love sharing bookjoy with students, watching books and children connect.

2.How did you first learn about Día and what has been your experience with Día?
AR: I first learned about Día 2 years ago. I have a student population made up of non-Hispanics, and wanted them to be aware of the availability of Latino literature, as well as learn about the Latino culture, using literature to bridge that gap. I have enjoyed teaching students about the importance of literacy through Día activities, and the students/teachers have enjoyed learning/participating in Día

3.What are your hopes for Día 2011, Día’s 15th Anniversary?
AR: I am hoping Día 2011 will be the beginning of great collaboration between school librarians in the United States. As a teacher and school librarian, I see the literacy gap that exists in many schools and know that participating in Día can help bridge that gap. A Quinceañera is a “coming of age” time, and I feel it’s time for Día to “come of age” with school librarians.

4. What helpful tip(s) do you have for those organizing a Día event for the first time?
AR: Tip number one is don’t worry if you can’t speak Spanish. Día is not just for Hispanics – it’s a Literacy Bridging event. Tip #2 would be to think of a way to bring literacy to your school or public library. Tip #3 is to just go out there and do it! Día events can range from the extremely elaborate, which involve hundreds, to something as simple as sharing puppet stories to a small group of children. Your only limitation is you, so “go for it!”

5.What is your favorite example of Bookjoy as either a child or an adult?
AR: My favorite example happened last year when I connected an 8th grade reluctant reader with a book. Previous to that, she’d only read Manga. That book about someone who liked Manga led to another book. Over the summer, she became a reader. In September, I met up with her in the hallway, during passing time, and gave her part two of a book she’d just finished reading. She jumped up in the air – in front of her classmates, and shouted “Yes! That’s just what I like to hear!” To that, I respond “Me too!”

6. What are you reading now?
AR: I just finished reading Three Black Swans by Caroline B. Cooney, and am starting Sweet Treats & Secret Crushes by Lisa Greenwald. Two days ago I read Starlighter by Bryan Davis and two days before that I read A Million Miles from Boston by Karen Day. With a personal stack of 250 ARC’s and 44 bound books waiting to be read, I’ll be reading something else by the time you read this. Suffice to say I’m never without a tween/YA book in my hand.

Visit Alma's blog (http://yourschoollibrary.wordpress.com/) about her Middle School Library Teacher position at Pollard Middle School in Needham, MA.

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Interview News

"Books and Authors: Talking with Pat Mora" is a feature interview by Jeanette Larson in the January 2011 issue of Book Links and available online.  Pat talks about her work, bookjoy, and Día’s fifteenth birthday.

A Visit with Doris Gebel about International Children's Book Day

I've never had the pleasure of meeting Doris Gebel, but we certainly share a love of children, the importance of sharing bookjoy, a belief that books can connect diverse children to other cultures, languages and countries. I'm a proud member of USBBY and am always inspired by the good work they do. I so hope that more and more schools and libraries will celebrate International Children's Book Day on April 2 and that more teachers and librarians will join USBBY. This organization has steadily supported Día. ¡Gracias!


Let's begin with an introduction.
DG: I am the Head of Youth Services at the Northport-East Northport Public Library in New York. I've taught Children's Literature and International Children's Literature at St. Joseph's College and Children's Literature at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science. I was privileged to serve on the 2003 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Committee and the 2006 Newbery Committee and as a long time member of USBBY was proud to edit the third annotated bibliography Crossing Boundaries with Children's Books (Scarecrow, 2006). I am currently serving on the USBBY Board as President-elect.

1. Tell us about USBBY.
DG: USBBY serves as the U.S. national section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), which was founded to promote international understanding and good will through books for children and teenagers. The organization, founded by Jella Lepman in 1953, aims to give children everywhere the opportunity to have access to books with high literary and artistic standards; to encourage the publication and distribution of quality children's books, especially in developing countries; to provide support and training for those involved with children and children's literature and to stimulate research and scholarly works in the field of children's literature.

2. What is International Children’s Book Day? Tell us about this year’s celebration plans.
DG: Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, 2 April, International Children's Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books. Each year a National Section of IBBY sponsors the International Children's Book Day creating a poster and inviting a prominent author of children's books to write a message promoting reading. This year's poster and message is available both on the USBBY webpage and the IBBY webpage and may be reproduced by anyone wanting to promote a love of reading. All types of celebrations around children's books and other special events that may include encounters with authors and illustrators, writing competitions or announcements of book awards are encouraged. In an effort to increase awareness of International Children's Book Day, USBBY has developed a webpage so that teachers, educators and librarians can share ideas for programs, lessons and activities in the home to encourage a love of reading and promote international understanding.

3. Do you see ICBD as a part of Día de los niños, Día de los libros’ emphasis of linking all children to books, languages, and cultures?
DG: Both El día de los niños/El día de los libros and International Children's Book Day have similar and complementary goals: inspiring a love of reading and advocating for literacy, celebrating the cultural backgrounds of children the world over through literacy efforts. It is fitting that the month of April begins with International Children's Book Day and culminates with El Día de los niños, Día de los libros. Pat Mora says it best with the phrase that she has coined -- Bookjoy! Everyday is a good day to share books with children and it is our hope that these special days stimulate literacy efforts all year round.