History of Día and our First Giveaway

Sitting down at the computer tonight, there is so much to write about that I am not too sure where to begin. However, since we will be celebrating Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros all week here at the LBBC, I will begin with that.

While at the Latino Children’s Literature conference this weekend (much more about that tomorrow,) I attended a session on Día whose emphasis was on connecting libraries and communities. The session was presented by two of the librarians – the animated and esteemed, Irania Patterson and her colleague Veronica Corral - associated with the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County(PLCMC), North Carolina, which was awarded the 2008 Mora Día award. The award honors those libraries who most effectively celebrate Día in the U.S.

During their presentation, Veronica gave a brief history of the day, which I share with you here. (I know that Roxana gave a bit of this information already, but a little repetition won’t hurt, no?)

Day of the Child is actually an international holiday that was formally adopted by the United General Assembly during the 1925 World Conference for the Well-being of Children held in Geneva, Switzerland. It was established in honor of children of all cultures and languages. Countries such as Japan, India, and Turkey (to name a few) all have a day dedicated to celebrating children, and do so in various ways that reflect the culture. Here in the States, we officially celebrate Día on April 30th thanks to author Pat Mora, who was aware of how the day was celebrated in Mexico, and conceived to combine the holiday with literacy for children. Thus, Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros was born in the United States in 1997.

The current outlook is that Día should be celebrated every day, culminating on April 30th with events and activities all around the country. Families, libraries, community centers, bookstores, museums, and more, all plan and initiate events to observe this holiday and to promote the idea of "bookjoy."

As founder of the American holiday, Mora’s states that the goals of Día are a daily commitment to: honor children and childhood, promote literacy, honor home languages and cultures, involve parents as valued members of the literacy team, and to promote library collection development that reflects our plurality.

If you’d like to check out the official web site for Día, click here. On it you will find tools to help you find out if there are any Día celebrations in your area, downloadable education programs, bibliographies, articles and much more.

Now, as promised, we will be giving away a book a day all this week. Today’s book is Pescadito by Sanne te Loo. It is the story of a young girl who saves un pescadito in the ocean and decides to take it home with her. But once she gets it there, she and her abuelita are in for a surprise as it turns out that el pescadito has an enormous appetite and begins to grow by leaps and bounds. What's una niña to do? You'll have to read it to find out! The illustrations are rendered with beautiful watercolors, perfect for the aquatic backdrop of the book. Certainly a delightful read for any Spanish-speaking family. I have seen the book in English at our local library, but this edition is in Spanish-only.

To win your copy of Pescadito, please leave us a comment before midnight and tell us if your familia celebrates Día, and of so, how? I will announce the winner tomorrow along with the next title we will giveaway. ¡Buenas suerte!