Pat Mora

This year marks the 23rd year of Día celebrations– and Pima County Public Library in Tucson, Arizona has held events for every one of those years! Each Pima library branch celebrates Children’s Day, Book Day a little differently:

Martha Cooper Library is having a book giveaway during their storytimes for babies, toddlers and preschoolers; crafts, and a “Children’s Day Around the World” program.

Wheeler Taft Abbett Sr Library is hosting “La Mariposa Puppet Show.”

Murphy-Wilmot Library is also having a puppet show, “Dancing in the Desert,” as well as a special Teddy Bear Picnic Storytime.

Southwest Library will celebrate with teens and adults with their program “Creative Bookbinding for Teens and Adults.”

Sam Lena-South Tucson Library invites families to their celebration with “Family Storytime: Create a Square: Empowerment through Stories, Art and Perspective.”

System-wise, Pima continues their Día work through their summer reading program, Summer Reading: A Universe of Stories. They’ll have a Family Fiesta Summer Reading Kick-Off on Saturday, May 18 with free books, live stories, a bookmobile and craft projects.

DIA everyday
Kendra Davey, Literacy Initiatives Program Manager, writes:
“In addition to our front-facing programs, we have been working quite a bit with our Children’s Services staff to think more deeply about what it means to celebrate Día De Los Niños, Día de los Libros and that having a program one time a year is important but not sufficient to serve our diverse community of families. To that end, we have started talking about DIA everyday with DIA representing diversity, inclusion, and access. We have had conversations and trainings about the importance of a diverse book collection, why representation in literature is so important for children’s self-identity, how to move beyond “cultural tourism” into cultural competence that is reflected in every interaction with the families we serve at the library. We still have a lot of work ahead of us to get this into the fabric of our libraries but we have really passionate, dedicated people here helping us do that work.”

Thanks to Kendra and everyone at Pima County Public Library for sharing bookjoy year-round!

Many thanks to two of our Children’s Day, Book Day Supporters for these ideas: National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and Colorín Colorado.

#1: Find some special books that represent different cultures to share with your students on April 30th.

#2: Host a Facebook Live special event with a visiting author–or just invite parents and friends to watch your classroom celebration.

#3: April is National Poetry Month, so plan a poetry slam! Or, for younger students, plant a poetry garden: write poems, paste on sticks and “plant” them outside the school.

#4: Schedule a Skype author visit with your class.

#5: Pair readers of different age levels for read-alouds: principals can read a favorite childhood book; teens can help with storytimes for elementary students.

#6: Plan a bilingual/multilingual story hour featuring readers of languages spoken in the community.

#7: Have students create bookmarks and posters for a Children’s Day, Book Day art show.

#8: Find and share videos of authors reading a favorite poem or book.

#9: Plan a school-wide book-themed scavenger hunt.

#10: Make a classroom video with students sharing the name of their favorite book and/or why they love to read.

If you want to share YOUR ideas with us, send an email.