Update for 2015:
Día de los Niños / Día de los Libros is Thursday, April 30th this year.
Check here to see if your local library has any Día celebrations planned during the next few days!
Día began in 1996, when the
marvelous children's author Pat Mora decided to bring El Día de los Niños -- Children's Day, a Mexican tradition -- to the US and add the element of "bookjoy," or love of the written word. Now we observe Children's Day / Book Day every year on the last day of April with community festivities and lots of reading.
Pat Mora's Book Fiesta -- read it!
If you'd like to find a Día celebration near you, check out the
American Library Association website and just enter your zip code. I'm going to be celebrating with some kiddos I work with, so I'll be sure to post pictures of our event next week.
Because this tradition originated in Mexico, I want to let y'all know about two of my favorite Mexican picture books that I'll be bringing to our Día party. The first is
Girando la Vida, written by Fiona del Mar and illustrated by
Claudia de Teresa, a colorful, dreamy book about the motion of life.
Then there's
Domitila y el Mar, by Nina Basich and
Teresa Martínez, about a woman who's always busybusybusy but finally succumbs to relaxation by the sea.
These books just make me feel good. And they're great for kids who already speak Spanish or are learning Spanish! If you'd like your own copies, you can purchase them (either straight from the publishers or possibly on Amazon) and keep them for yourself or donate them to your local school or library.
Publishers' Websites (in English)*:
*Note: The prices are in pesos, so don't fear the large numbers. The exchange rate is about 13 Mexican pesos per 1 US dollar.
Anyway, I wish you a wonderful Día -- find a local celebration and join the fun!
