Page 145 – Pat Mora

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.

Publishers Support Dia

We thank the many publishers who sent their good wishes for Día and contributed images and links about their diversity books. We hope to see growing support for Día from the publishing community.

Candlewick supports Dia’s goals of linking all children to books, languages and cultures by publishing books like Roberto’s Trip to the Top.

Here are some links to downloadable material such as activity and discussion guides and posters for a few Charlesbridge books that we think would be a good addition to the DIAPALOOZA festivities!

“Get swept away in a book” — a Literacy Poster with art from Our Seasons by Grace Lin, illustrated by Ranida McKneally

“Get down to your library!” — a Literacy Poster with art from Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw

Activity and Discussion Guide for Join Hands! by Pat Mora and photographs by George Ancona

Cincos Puntos Press has teacher’s resources for many of their titles and author videos.

Children’s Book Press helped create the poster and bookmark for the San Francisco Día celebration.

Little Brown has an educator’s guide available for Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez.

Penguin Young Readers offers a great resource for educators, a website for teachers and librarians that contains all sorts of curriculum and discussion guides, title information, and a wealth of other materials available for download.

Pat Speaks in Las Vegas & Writes About Día States

Over a thousand visitors since April 1 at our first Díapalooza! Wow! Laurina Cashin who is coordinating this project and I are really smiling. I smiled lots this month as I participated in Día events in Galveston, Corpus Christi, Las Vegas, Nevada, and when I chatted about Día with dedicated librarians at the Texas Library Association (TLA). In Corpus Christi, I had the honor of reading from my work for adults at the Texas A & M English Department and of speaking about Sharing Bookjoy (and Día) at a reading and literacy conference on campus. I met inspiring librarians and teachers in Las Vegas, NV, thanks to the commitment of Mary Nelson Brown, Youth Services Coordinator for the County Library District. Mary believes that we want children and families reading all year long, and that Día is an important annual celebration of family reading. Mary and her team are thinking about how to grow relevant literacy celebrations throughout the city. Are your schools and libraries planning to work together to promote your community as a reading community?

One of the Día activities at Las Vegas is making milagros for the children’s department bulletin board.

Día States

Flo, Trujillo, one of our Día Dynamos, promotes Día throughout New Mexico and secures a Día proclamation from the Governor. Freda Mosquera is doing this same important work in Florida. The California State Library promotes Día state-wide as does the Texas Library Association. Know of any other states who promote Día state-wide?

Literacy Quote of the Week

“Many things we need can wait. The child cannot. Now is the time his bones are formed, his mind developed. To him we cannot say tomorrow, his name is today.”

— Gabriela Mistral

Charlotte Mecklenburg Celebrates Día

This year the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library celebrates Día with author/illustrator Keiko Kasza. There’ll be readings and signings, roving performers, theatre and puppets, books and music, and a book give-away.

These pictures represent the last three Día celebrations at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (formally Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.) You can see more on the library’s Flickr site.

Thanks to our guest blogger Meryle A. Leonard, Outreach Manager/ Community Engagement Department at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.