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.

Wonderful AASL in MN

I was so excited flying to Minneapolis last week to speak at the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a group I’d not met before. Talk about committed literacy professionals! The librarians at all levels—elementary, middle and high schools, as well as university faculty members—all expressed how much they enjoyed their work and the excitement of their students.


As always, I learned so much from my conversations with these professionals, one of the joys of being a presenter. Not enough of the school librarians were familiar with Día , but many are eager to plan their first culminating Día celebrations for this coming April. I hope that they, and all of you who may be planning your April book fiestas, are finding helpful information on the Día section  of my site and on the various links on the site. I welcome your suggestions and ideas.

AASL members ready to promote the Día family literacy concept to their schools and districts, brainstormed about how to increase Día’s impact within their organization and in the national literacy community. Ideas included presentations/sessions about planning Día events at district, state, regional and national meetings.

Join us in linking all children to books, languages, and cultures. Be part of establishing the national tradition of celebrating El día de los niños/El día de los libros, Children’s Day/Book Day just as we annually celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Share bookjoy!

Pat signing books following the Author Banquet

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

Grijalva Will Receive ALA 2011 Public Service Award for Support of Libraries in Public Education

Warm congratulations from Pat to Representative Raúl Grijalva, a Library Champion.


" The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has announced it will award the 2011 Public Service Award to Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva May 9 as part of National Library Legislative Day in Washington, D.C. In 2009 and in several previous Congresses, Grijalva introduced the Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act, which seeks to place at least one highly qualified school library media specialist in each public school."
 
Read the full press release.

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

Día in Albuquerque

Throughout this month, we'll post news about Día festivities across the country. Albuquerque Bernalillo County Libraries has planned many events over several days.



Riann Powell, Cultural Activities Coordinator for the ABC Libraries provided this information:

We are excited to be participating again by providing 17 events from April 16-30. The events include:


• Bilingual (Spanish & English) storytelling


• Storytelling in the traditional Native American style using sign language


• African Dance & Drumming


• Interactive & hands on sessions from the Natural History Museum


• A PBS/KNME sponsored event featuring characters from the show Super Why

At the end of each program each student will receive a book of their very own to take home and keep. We will also be handing out bilingual family storytelling activity placemats that were created by an organization that encourages families to eat and interact together.

Riann was recently promoted and her successor will be responsible for Día. She says "Working on Día has been one of the big highlights of my career with the libraries – we’ve been able to grow it so much over the years and I love what it has evolved in to. We’re very lucky to have an endowment for Día through our Friends for the Library which enables us to put on quality programs and ensures that the libraries will continue special programming for years to come."

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.

Pat’s Visit to Zavala Elementary School

This past September, I received an e-mail from a young school librarian. She had heard that I was going to be speaking in my home city of El Paso, Texas, and she wrote urging me to visit her school. She spoke of her commitment to El día de los niños / El día de los libros ( Día) and promised me that her students would be well-prepared for my visit and well-behaved. I called Lisa and gained energy and inspiration from her excitement about sharing bookjoy. Meeting her was a highlight of 2010. Thanks, Lisa, for making me feel so welcome and Zavala Elementary and for preparing such a special morning for me.



1. Why did you become a librarian?
LL: I was born in El Paso, Texas but grew up across the border in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua until I was thirteen years old. Since I completed my elementary education in a city where libraries are non-existent, the first thing I did when I moved to El Paso, TX from Juarez, was to sign-up for a public library card. I recall feeling right at home every time I set foot in such a wondrous print-rich environment. By the time I finished my undergraduate degree in early childhood education, I could not help but feel a void in my professional accomplishments. I decided to apply to graduate school at the University of North Texas and pursue a Masters in Library and Information Science, which I have just completed in the summer of 2010! I love being a librarian and instilling a love of literature and reading.

2. What are some of the comments students made following the author visit?
LL: Students were so excited to meet Pat Mora! They kept making remarks about her upbringing in El Paso TX, and her founding of the Día celebration that allowed them to relate to her creative work. Our students keep checking out her books with such enthusiasm that there is a waiting list to check out her autographed copies.

3. Why did you think an author visit was important and how did you prepare for the visit?

LL: An author school visit is always such an honor to host because not only do they motivate students to read more, they also give students hope that maybe someday they too can be acclaimed authors. Hosting Pat Mora at our campus was such an enlightening experience not just because we hold 27 copies of her books, but because of her founding of El Día de Los Niños – Día de Los Libros. This literary fiesta is famously celebrated in our hometown of El Paso, TX. As a lover of literature and advocate of libraries, I have volunteered in previous Día celebrations as a storyteller. Preparing for her school visit was so memorable because her arrival coincided with the first day of National Hispanic Heritage Month! I personally decorated our cafeteria auditorium with festive Mexican “papel picado” flags, miniature piñatas, student-made welcoming banners, a myriad of her books, and the US-Mexico Consulate donated books in Spanish for children. The procession ended with the distribution of “Marranitos” Mexican sweet bread for every student. I purchased these treats at Bowie Bakery, the famous bakery in El Paso depicted in Mrs. Mora’s The Bakery Lady, a Zavala favorite!

4. Why is Día important to you and how do you hope to celebrate Día’s 15th Anniversary?
LL: Our Dia Celebration is so important to me because it is the greatest opportunity to cherish books, reading, and family literacy in general. As the all-time favorite saying goes "Los Padres y Ninos que leen juntos, crecen juntos", “The family that reads together, grows together” and so it is my primary goal to witness the flourishing of a community of readers. Books and storytelling are capable of bridging the gap between generations and thus bringing everybody closer together. Our school community makes plans way ahead of time to take everybody along in the family to celebrate Día at Washington Park. Last year alone, 20,000 gathered to celebrate here in our border area!

Día’s 15th Anniversary will be celebrated similarly to last year with one difference. I will plan for a thematic unit at our library on fairytales and folktales in which students will get to create their own folktales and perform those using marionettes. We’ll record the performances to create a digital storytelling event at our campus. A group of students will also accompany me to Día’s celebration to perform their folktales at the storytelling booth. I’m adding something new for the anniversary and implementing a family literacy month throughout March. This will prepare my students who are storytelling at the actual Día celebration. In addition, children and families will get the opportunity to enjoy live theatrical plays based on classic folk tales and fairy tales using my marionette set. The family literacy program will take place on every Saturday of March for two hours of performance and read alouds at Washington Park (where the real Día celebrations take place!). I will make flyers for families to advertise and motivate them to attend.

5. What are you reading now?
LL: Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Two Día News Flashes: Jeanette Larson Is a Día Dynamo and Exciting Día News from ALSC

How grateful I am to my friend Texas librarian Jeanette Larson who has been an active Día supporter from the beginning. The key word in that first sentence is “active.” Jeanette is a do-er. Long before I was that familiar with the Web, it was Jeanette who said, “We need to get Día on the Web, and we need a Día booklet.” What a gift to me and Día. As you’ll see in her answers, through the years, Jeanette has been helping Día grow, and now she has completed an ALA book, El día de los ninos/El día de los libros: Building a Culture of Literacy in Your Community Through Día. Gracias, Jeanette. (And don’t you love her Halloween answer below?)


1. When and how did you become interested in sharing bookjoy?
JL: My parents both were big readers and they shared bookjoy with all of us. I remember being about 6 or 7 years old and teaching my younger siblings to read. As I recall, or have been told, I did that primarily by sharing books and reading to them. We always received books as gifts.

2. How did you first learn about Día and what has been your experience with Día?

JL: It was very early in Pat's planning and promotion. I don't even remember how or where I met Pat but I was working at the Texas State Library when she was starting Día. Part of my work included helping libraries plan programs and services. Pat mentioned Día and her desire to encourage libraries to participate. We had just finished creating a resource guide for Read to Your Bunny, an early literacy project started by author/illustrator Rosemary Wells and I suggested to Pat that we create a similar manual for Día to help libraries get started. We gave that manual, which is still available at http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/projects/ninos/, to hundreds of libraries in Texas and also made it available to libraries in Florida and any other libraries that wanted it. I also worked with Austin Public Library on several of their celebrations and served on the Texas Library Association's committee to create the Día Toolkit. Even as a professor for Texas Woman's University I include Día in my classes and encourage students to create sample programs for libraries. My latest Día project is a book for ALA/ALSC that will be published in April 2011.

3.What are your hopes for Día 2011, Día’s 15th Anniversary?
JL: I really hope that like a Quinceañera, the 15th anniversary marks a "coming of age" for Día. It has flourished and has many friends and supporters but it can now mature and reach its full potential. I'd like to see more libraries, especially school libraries, celebrating bilingual literacy and my hope is that more languages can be encompassed in that celebration.

4. What helpful tip(s) do you have for those organizing a Día event for the first time?
JL: Start small and grow. Don't be afraid to ask for support and assistance. People are very willing to help. Read El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros: Building a Culture of Literacy in Your Community through Día (ALA, 2011) as it provides tons of information on organizing and expanding Día events.

5.What is your favorite example of Bookjoy as either a child or an adult?
JL: At Halloween I give out books along with the candy. It's wonderful to see the delight in a child's face when he or she gets to pick a book. Sometimes the kids are not even interested in the candy; they know that the book is the real treat!

6. What are you reading now?
JL: I am on a non-fiction award committee so I'm reading a lot for that. I usually read a least two books and listen to an audiobook at the same time so there are really too many titles to list. I just finished Border Crossing by Jessica Lee Anderson and The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler. I love mysteries so am reading Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery edited by Sarah Cortez and Liz Martínez. For my book discussion group I'm reading The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom. Another type of bookjoy is the joy of discovering a book I might not have read without some encouragement.

Exciting Día News from ALSC!

Beginning Tuesday, November 2, the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is pleased to accept applications for mini-grants intended to expand youth literacy programs to include and celebrate a variety of cultures in public libraries. Up to 15 mini-grants will be awarded: up to eight at $4,000 each; and up to seven at $6,000 each.

Intended as an expansion of El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Día), the mini-grants will be awarded to libraries that demonstrate a need to better address the diverse backgrounds within their communities.

The mini-grants are part of the Everyone Reads @ your library grant awarded to ALSC from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. For more information, and the application form, go to http://everyonereads.zhost.net/. The deadline for receipt of applications is November 29, 2010.

Movers & Shakers Serving Young People & Teens

We postponed writing about the 2010 Movers and Shakers because of Díapalooza but didn't want any more time to lapse before noting all the creative and forward-thinking librarians on this annual list compiled by Library Journal from field nominations. Congratulations to all the Movers and Shakers 2010!

Many of the names on this year's list are doing marvelous work for children and teens in libraries -- grass roots teen literacy, grant writing to improve services, state-wide preschool literacy, demystifying picture book organization, revolutionary teen programming, and training. We applaud those contributing to a brighter future for libraries and youth.

Día in School Libraries

My library will be participating in Día de los Ninos/Day of the Child. We will be celebrating by having the students do their artwork depicting reading and literacy. It will be an on going process throughout the month of April, with the finished products to be displayed on Friday, April 30th. Paperback books will be given to the participants.

Thanks to our guest blogger Linda Hinojosa, Librarian at Buckner Elementary/ Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD  in Pharr, Texas. We're happy that school libraries are holding Día celebrations too, whether on their own or in cooperation with area public libraries. April 2010 is the 25th Anniversary of School Library Month.

Linda sent us several examples of her students' artwork.

School and Public Library Collaboration for Día Events

When we read Hope Crandall's article "Community Collaboration for a Día Celebration," co-authored with Mary Parra and Deeda Chamberlain and published in the Winter 2009 issue of OLA Quarterly, we knew we wanted to interview her for the blog. Her enthusiasm and support of Día is infectious.

Hope Crandall provides library services in English and Spanish at Washington Elementary School in Woodburn, OR. She loves multicultural celebrations for all
ages. Hope is a member of OASL, OLA, and REFORMA.


Left to right: Mary Parra, Hope Crandall and Deeda Chamberlain

1. You've been involved in creating and maintaining successful collaborations between public and school libraries to plan and hold Día events. What are three key factors that ensure successful collaboration?
a) begin planning together at least 6 months in advance
b) maintain the focus on family and children’s literacy
c) leverage your unique pool of resources and patrons to plan a wide variety of activities and entertainment appealing to all participants

2. Tell us about some of your favorite literacy-based activities.
a) family members write and illustrate favorite riddles, proverbs, or tongue-twisters with examples of culturally and linguistically appropriate books on hand to view
b) rent a book character costume to roam the event for family photos and promotion of his/her books
c) wheel of fortune with book-related questions and literacy-related prizes
d) origami or similar craft books and supplies for a make-and-take option

3.In your article you point out that Día can be customized to fit any community size or ethnic configuration.? How do you go about reinforcing that idea within your community?
Each year we get better at knowing the needs and wants of our community. At a minimum these include the basic considerations of culture, religion, language, parent work schedules, transportation, and major commitments the families may have such as sports. Everything we plan aims to maximize the benefit and appeal to all our families. The event activities feature print and audiovisual resources, performing arts, food, and games which represent the interests of our three major ethnic groups: Latino, Russian, and Anglo. Private, parochial, and public schools, as well as child care centers, pre-schools, and houses of worship are contacted to sponsor activities and promote Día with their children and families.

4.What are you most excited about for Día 2010?
greater involvement of our Russian community

5.What do you think can be done on a statewide or national basis to increase Día's visibility in schools?
a) tie it to the school’s mandate for parent involvement and family literacy
b) configure it to the goals of each individual school or school district
c) know it is BookJOY, and a valuable break from testing mandates
d) give the school staff the necessary “release” time to plan and implement it

6.I always ask this question when interviewing for Pat. What's your most memorable Bookjoy experience as a child or adult?
The whole arc: know the Spanish book needs and wants of my staff and students, go to the annual Guadalajara International Book Fair, find and buy the books, have them rebound in industrial strength bindings, process the books, and share them with my students, staff, and parents. The critical segment of this arc is finding and buying the Spanish books. The joyful segment is reading the books to the children, and handing the books to the patrons.

Bravo to the Chicago Public Library!

How fortunate I felt to participate in CPL's annual book festival Book-A-Mania. Kudos to Bernadette Nowakowski who began the event for families fifteen years ago in 1994. Bernie said the celebration has grown in wondrous ways thanks to a dedicated and enthusiastic staff, city support, volunteers and the assistance of diverse funders including Target. This year’s art was based on Book Fiesta illustrated by the talented Rafael López. As children participated in all kinds of activities, they were earning a free book. I enjoyed chatting with volunteers including high school students in a service learning project and some employees of Kraft Foods. I chatted with Sonia Ocasio Bowman, librarian at Morton West High School in Berwyn, IL, who is working with community agencies to plan a Día event for her community. I’m always thrilled to see high schools participating in Día. I met student teachers Gissel Escobedo and Arlen Hernandez who are going to promote Día in Cicero, and I chatted with Kimberly-Celeste Boyd who’s going to promote Día in the Chicago Public Schools.
I left Book-A-Mania inspired by a library system committed to sharing bookjoy, to serving diverse families in creative ways.

Library Grants for Family Literacy

The National Center for Family Literacy has created a national award for libraries that will support and fund libraries’ family programming. “Libraries and literacy have such a natural connection, and we designed the award to help tighten that,” says Emily Kirkpatrick, vice president of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), which co-launched the grant with online book site, Better World Books. Use this link to access a form so you’ll be notified of grant criteria and receive an application when available (after October 1.)

Thanks to School Library Journal and Reading Tub’s Literacy Roundup for the news and links.

NoveList Interview

In the recent issue of NoveList School News,edited by Julie Corsaro, Pat discusses the evolution of Día, as well as Book Fiesta!, her new bilingual picture book commemoration. Read the interview here.

Libraries in over half the country will celebrate Día!

Exciting news! So far, one hundred and sixty school and public libraries in over 30 states have registered their Día events with ALSC. Check out the interactive map on ALSC's Dia web pages for details about these events and programs.

A Community Effort

This past February, I had the opportunity to return to the beautiful Northwest, specifically, to Lacey, Washington. Was I impressed by their community-wide literacy celebration! Here’s how they describe it:
Lacey Loves to Read (LLTR) is a successful “one city, one author” community partnership that began in 2004 with award-winning Hispanic author Gary Soto. Three key community partners -- the City of Lacey, Lacey Timberland Library and the North Thurston Public Schools -- collaborate on marketing, fundraising and event planning. It is a year-round planning process that culminates with the author visit in late February. Leading up to that, the community is encouraged to read selected works by one author and discuss them with fellow students, colleagues, family and friends. School and community librarians are active in promoting this event, along with various business sponsors and the media. Events include a student bookmark contest each fall, which gets people excited and familiar with the author. One year we had more than 1,600 entries! February events include community access nights at school libraries, a poetry/book reading of the author’s work at a local coffee shop, student workshops with the author, an educator’s coffee with the author and a community reception and VIP dinner with the author. Each year we estimate this program touches more than 10,000 people on a lean budget of about $32,000 (both cash and in-kind sponsorships). This does not include the countless hours of staff time dedicated to this event. Efforts have paid off in kudos from every author that has visited, including Soto, Jane Yolen, Walter Dean Myers, Naomi Shihab Nye and in 2008 -- Pat Mora! We focus on authors who will appeal to readers of all ages. Consequently, these are also often authors of diversity! For more information visit our website.