Page 122 – Pat Mora

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 https://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

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.