Día de los Niños is an annual celebration to honor and celebrate children as they provide the optimistic ideals of the future. Borrowed from Mexico’s El Día de los Niños, Día de los Niños in the United States champions literacy for children of all cultural backgrounds and is celebrated widely in schools, community hot spots, and libraries. Founded by Pat Mora in 1997 (author of dozens of children’s books including Gracias/Thanks and A Birthday Basket for Tía) this holiday outlines it goals as:
- Celebrate children and connect them to the world of learning through books, stories and libraries.
- Nurture cognitive and literacy development in ways that honor and embrace a child’s home language and culture.
- 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.
(From ALA’s Día de los Niños page http://dia.ala.org/).
Share this wonderful celebration with a little one in your life by visiting a local library!
The American Library Association offers many resources to foster the creativity and imagination that our younger generation indulges in:
- Free webinars during the month of April.
- Download this free Día Family Book Club Toolkit to help plan a club in your community!
- Free Día Poster
To find a Día de los Niños celebration in your local area, click on this link: http://cs.ala.org/websurvey/alsc/dia/map.cfm.