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.
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)
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. “
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.
