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A Brief History of El día de los niños/El día de los libros

El Día del niño is celebrated each year on April 30th. This day is all about recognizing the importance of children in society and promotes their well being and literacy.  “El día de los niños,” is a traditional holiday that is celebrated in Mexico and many other Latin American countries sin 1925. Acclaimed author Pat Mora took up the cause in 1997 and brought it to the United States where the celebration includes literacy and the love for reading. A year later, the U.S. Congress officially designated April 30 as “Day of the Child.”

As stated in the American Library Association website, Día is a nationally recognized initiative that emphasizes the importance of literacy for all children from all backgrounds. It is a daily commitment to linking children and their families to diverse books, languages and cultures. The common goals of all Día programming are to:

1. Celebrate children and connect them to the world of learning through books, stories and libraries.
2. Nurture cognitive and literacy development in ways that honor and embrace a child’s home language and culture.
3. Introduce families to community resources that provide opportunities for learning through multiple literacies.
   Recognize and respect culture, heritage and language as powerful tools for strengthening families and communities.

Planning to celebrate Día at your library? Check out the following resources:

Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) – A Division of the American Library Association (ALA)- webpage: El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) – Booklists

Another ALA webpage dedicated to Día: Celebrating Día Today and Every Day of the Year

REFORMA – The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and Spanish Speaking – Día Mini-Grants

Pat Mora’s Website: Children’s Day, Book Day Resources to Share

Colorín Colorado: El día de los niños/El día de los libros

California State Association: Día de los niños/Día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day)

Texas State Library: El Día de los niños/El Día de los libros: A Celebration of Childhood and Bilingual Literacy

We would love to see you at the JCLC Conference. Join us during the JCLC All Conference Meet and Greet Thursday, February 9 from (5:30-to 7:30pm). We hope to see you there!

List of Winners and Honors:

Youth Illustration Award: “Where Wonder Grows,” Illustrated by Adriana M J Garcia and written by Xelena Gonzalez. Published by Cinco Puntos Press, an imprint of Lee & Low Books

Youth Illustration Honor Books:

“The Coquíes Still Sing,” illustrated by Krystal Quiles, written by Karina Nicole González

“A Land of Books: Dreams of Young Mexihcah Word Painters,” illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh

“Magic: Once Upon a Faraway Land,” illustrated and written by Mirelle Ortega

“Phenomenal AOC: The Roots and Rise of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,” illustrated by Loris Lora, written by Anika Aldamuy Denise

“Srta. Quinces,” illustrated and written by Kat Fajardo

“Still Dreaming / Seguimos soñando,” illustrated by Magdalena Mora, written by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez, translated by Luis Humberto Crosthwaite

Children’s Author Award: “Frizzy,” by Claribel A. Ortega. Published by First Second Books, a division of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group

Youth Author Honor Books:

“The Coquíes Still Sing,” written by Karina Nicole González, illustrated by Krystal Quiles

“The Notebook Keeper: A Story of Kindness from the Border,” written by Stephen Briseño, illustrated by Magdalena Mora

“Tumble,” written by Celia C. Pérez

YA Author Award: “Burn Down, Rise UP,” by Vincent Tirado. Published by Sourcebooks Fire, an imprint of Sourcebooks

Young Adult Author Honor Books:

“Breathe and Count Back from Ten,” by Natalia Sylverter

“High Spirits,” by Camille Gomera-Tavarez

“The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School,” by Sonora Reyes

Visit https://www.reforma.org/dia-grants to learn more and to apply!

Día

El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), commonly known as Día, is a celebration every day of children, families, and reading that culminates yearly on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. REFORMA is proud to be a founding partner of Día.

REFORMA will award up to 5 mini-grants of $300 to support a Día program that celebrates Latino culture.

Each year the American Library Association honors books, videos, and other outstanding materials for children and teens. Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, the ALA Youth Media Awards – include the prestigious Pura Belpré Awards, named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. These awards guide parents, educators, librarians, and others in selecting the best materials for youth. As we approach the annual Youth Media Award (YMA) announcements to be held at the 2023 LibLearnX on January 30th,  join us to predict which titles will be selected as the 2023 Pura Belpré Award winners for the categories of Children’s Author (Text), Children’s Illustrator, and Young Adult.

On this short form, share which books you feel (or hope) win the Pura Belpré Awards for this year. We can’t wait to see what everyone is predicting the winners will be! 

Mock Pura Belpré Survey

About the Pura Belpré Awards (from the ALSC website): 

The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of the American Library Association (ALA), and the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking ( REFORMA), an ALA affiliate.

The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. As a children’s librarian, storyteller, and author, she enriched the lives of Puerto Rican children in the U.S.A. through her pioneering work of preserving and disseminating Puerto Rican folklore.

The award is now given annually. It was given as a biennial award from 1996 through 2008. Beginning with the 2021 award, the Young Adult Author category was added with YALSA’s partnership.

Does your library have all the past Pura Belpré Award winners? Download a list of past winners HERE! 

Want to host a Mock Pura Belpré Award at your library!?

Thank you! Good luck to all the proposed titles!!!

REFORMA de FL Executive Board

The Joint Conference of Librarians of Color has been rescheduled to February 8-12, 2023 at TradeWinds Resort in St. Pete Beach, FL. You can visit the conference’s website for more information. REFORMA de FL will be present and we will plan a meet up. More details coming soon! We hope to see you in St. Pete on February!

REFORMA de Florida members:

The RdeF Board and leaders would like for you to know that we are here to help with recovery for those of you who have been affected by the Hurricane. We know that some parts of the State are worst than others, so please let us know how we can help. We have a space in our social media accounts for you all to contact each other as well.

In addition, the situation has resulted in the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC) that was going to take place this coming week in St. Pete Beach being canceled. We want to thank all of you who worked hard to host this Conference. Some of our members were in planning committees, many were presenting and attending, and organizing to host our friends and colleagues from other states. We are very thankful for your work, and we hope that we will be able to share the work you did in some other way soon!

Stay well and reach out!

Your REFORMA de Florida Executive Board.