Día de los niños/Día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) is an annual celebration of books and literacy that takes place each year on our near April 30. The American Library Association says:

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.

Día’s founder, and one of its biggest proponents, is award-winning author Pat Mora. We asked her 5 questions about the holiday and how to celebrate it:

What is bookjoy and how do you hope Día will cultivate it in young/early readers?

I coined the word bookjoy to convey the private and delicious pleasure of enjoying time with books. Little ones can thoroughly experience bookjoy long before they’re readers if the adults around them share excitement about books.

What impact is Día having on communities where it is celebrated?

Día strengthens communities because it brings diverse children and families together to celebrate all our children and to connect them to bookjoy. Día is a year-long commitment to share literacy creatively with culminating celebrations held in April on or near April 30^th.

Do you feel that the recent push for more diversity in publishing (especially with the We Need Diverse Books community campaign) has sparked renewed interest in Día?

I hope so. We celebrate Dia’s 20^th Anniversary April 2016. For years, I’ve written and spoken about the importance of a national book community, including publishers, authors, illustrators, and award committees, and reviewers that reflect the diversity of our children. Those of us in this community need to participate in creating a body of children’s literature that honors our plurality.

What would you say to a library or school that wants to celebrate Día but doesn’t have many resources at its disposal?

Those of us committed to Children’s Day, Book Day, in Spanish El día de los niños, El día de los libros are creating a tradition in the same way that Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are traditions in our country. Exciting: honoring all children and sharing bookjoy with them. Some April observances are small and some are big, but the important element is annually sharing this tradition. Literacy is essential in a democracy. Let’s celebrate kids and books!

What role does community play in the celebration of Día? How can individual readers support or celebrate Día?

Readers enjoy sharing an important value in our lives: books! We can ask our nearby or local schools and libraries if they celebrate Día and be prepared to explain what it is and why it’s important. We can volunteer to help or provide a donation. Many Día celebrations include book-giveaways and books as prizes. Schools and libraries welcome our support. When diverse groups of diverse ages join together for children, it energizes communities.

Pat Mora will deliver the 2016 Arbuthnot Lecture (image courtesy of Pat Mora)

ALSC and the 2016 May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture Committee are proud to announce the opening of the application to host the 2016 event featuring award-winning children’s book author and pioneering literacy advocate Pat Mora.

Host site application forms can be downloaded at the Arbuthnot site. Applications are due May 15, 2015. Information about host site responsibilities is included in the application materials. The lecture traditionally is held in April or early May.

Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Mora grew up bilingual and bicultural. With degrees in English and speech, she was a teacher and university administrator before writing children’s books. Known for her lyrical style, Mora’s poetry and prose have won numerous awards, including a 2005 Belpré Honor Medal for text for “Doña Flor: A Tall Tale of a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart,” published by Knopf Books for Young Readers, and illustrated by Raul Colón. Her generosity for sharing bookjoy, the phrase she coined for the power and pleasure of words, led Mora to launch “Día,” which will observe its 20th anniversary in 2016.

The post Reminder: Apply to Host the 2016 Arbuthnot Lecture! appeared first on ALSC Blog.

The Texas Library Association Annual Conference is next week! Will you be there? If so, we’d love to meet you. Here is our exciting signing schedule below:

Wednesday, April 15

• 10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: Pat Mora, Authors Area (Water Rolls, Water Rises)
• 2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.: Don Tate, LEE & LOW Booth (It Jes’ Happened)

Thursday, April 16

• 10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.: Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Summer of the Mariposas)
• 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.: Valynne Maetani, Authors Area (Ink and Ashes)
• 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Pat Mora, LEE & LOW Booth (Water Rolls, Water Rises)
• 2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.: Valynne Maetani, LEE & LOW Booth (Ink and Ashes)
• 3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.: Andrea Cheng, LEE & LOW Booth (Etched in Clay)

We’ll be at Booth 2051 and look forward to meeting you!

Pat Mora will deliver the 2016 Arbuthnot Lecture (image courtesy of Pat Mora)

ALSC and the 2016 May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture Committee are proud to announce the opening of the application to host the 2016 event featuring award-winning children’s book author and pioneering literacy advocate Pat Mora.

The Arbuthnot Lecture is an annual event, announced at the 2015 ALA Midwinter Meeting, in which an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature presents a paper that makes a significant contribution to the field. A library school, department of education in a college or university or a children’s library system may be considered. The lecture is administered by ALSC.

Applications are due Friday, May 15, 2015. Information about host site responsibilities is included in the application materials. The lecture traditionally is held in April or early May.

In January, Pat Mora was selected by the Arbuthnot Lecture Committee to speak in 2016. “Mora’s commitment to literacy for all children of all backgrounds motivated her to found El día de los niños/ El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), or ‘Día,’ a celebration of children, families and reading. This flourishing family literacy initiative culminates annually on April 30,” stated 2016 Arbuthnot Committee Chair Julie Corsaro.

Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Mora grew up bilingual and bicultural. With degrees in English and speech, she was a teacher and university administrator before writing children’s books. Known for her lyrical style, Mora’s poetry and prose have won numerous awards, including a 2005 Belpré Honor Medal for text for “Doña Flor: A Tall Tale of a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart,” published by Knopf Books for Young Readers, and illustrated by Raul Colón. Her generosity for sharing bookjoy, the phrase she coined for the power and pleasure of words, led Mora to launch “Día,” which will observe its 20th anniversary in 2016.

ALSC established this lecture series in 1969, with sponsorship from Scott, Foresman and Company (now Pearson Scott Foresman) in honor of author May Hill Arbuthnot. The lectureship, now funded by the ALSC May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Endowment, has the distinction of featuring many notable authors, critics, librarians, historians, and teachers of children’s literature from various countries. Past lecturers over the decades have included Mary Ørvig, Leland B. Jacobs, Virginia Hamilton, Maurice Sendak, and Richard Jackson. Brian Selznick will deliver the 2015 Arbuthnot Honor Lecture on Friday, May 8, 2015 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at the DC Public Library.

The post Apply to Host the 2016 Arbuthnot Lecture with Pat Mora appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Yesterday was the ALA Youth Media Awards, or the “Oscars of Children’s Literature” as they’re sometimes called. It was a big day for diversity. Diverse books and authors were honored across the board and we couldn’t be happier.

Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, written by Katheryn Russell-Brown and illustrated by Frank Morrison, received the Coretta Scott King Honor for Illustration. Little Melba follows the life of famed trombonist, composer, and arranger Melba Liston who broke through racial and gender barriers to become one of the great unsung heroes of jazz.

Pat Mora, author of Water Rolls, Water Rises/El agua rueda, el agua sube and many other award-winning titles, won the 2016 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award! This award recognizes an author, librarian, or children’s lecturer who will then present a lecture at a winning host site. In addition to her writing, Pat Mora is also a literacy
advocate. She created Día, a day that celebrates children and the importance of reading.

Congratulations to all the titles honored at the ALA Youth Media Awards!

Water Rolls, Water Rises: El Agua Rueda, el Agua Sube
By Pat Mora
Illustrated by Meilo So
Children’s Book Press (an imprint of Lee & Low Books)
$17.95
ISBN: 978-0892393251
Ages 4-8
On shelves now.

Sometimes I wonder what effect the televised ephemera I took in as a child has had on my memories and references. For example, when I pick up a book like Pat Mora’s beautifully written and lushly illustrated Water Rolls, Water Rises: El Agua Rueda, el Agua Sube I immediately flash back to an old Sesame Street episode I enjoyed as a kid that showed a water sapped desert landscape made vibrant once more with the appearance of rain. Taken by itself, such a ran is an event that happens every day on Earth, and as such it’s the kind of thing tailor made to inspire a poet’s heart and mind. Poetry, sad to say, is not a form of literature that I excel in as a student. I can appreciate it, even quote it when called up to do so, but my heart belongs to prose first and foremost. If I have to read poetry, it helps to read the best of the best. Only really stellar poetry can crack my shell of indifference. And when you pair that really good verse alongside art that makes you want to stand up and cheer? That’s when you have a book that won’t just win over crusty old fogies like me, but also its intended audience: kids. Because if a book like Water Rolls, Water Rises can make me stop and think about the natural world, if only for a second, imagine what it could do for an actual child’s growing brain. Better things than old Sesame Street segments, that’s for sure.

We start slowly and watch the roll of the tides and the rise of the fog. The water is blown, then slithers and snakes, and in one particularly beautiful passage glides “up roots of tulips and corn.” After that, things pick up a bit. In swells the water sloshes, in woods it swirls, and it all culminates in storms and thunder and “lightning’s white flash.” Then, just as suddenly, all is calm again. Water rests in an oasis and slumbers in marshes. The book concludes with water joyfully “skidding and slipping”, “looping and leaping” until at last we pull back and view for ourselves our blue planet, “under gold sun, under white moon.” The bilingual text in both English and Spanish is complemented by illustrator Meilo So’s mixed media illustrations and contains both an Author’s Note and key for identifying the images in the book in the back.

Now I’ll tell you right now that I don’t speak a lick of Spanish. I’ve the rudimentary single words and phrases culled from years of watching the aforementioned Sesame Street but there’s nothing substantial in my noggin. Therefore I cannot honestly tell you if the Spanish translation by Adriana Dominguez and Pat Mora matches the English text’s spare verse. Certainly I was impressed with the minimal wordplay Mora chose to use in this book. As someone prone to wordiness (I think the length of this review speaks for itself) I am always most impressed by those writers that can siphon a thought or a description down to its most essential elements. It’s hard to say what you’ll notice first when you read this book. Will it be the words or the art? Mora’s cadences (in English anyway) succeed magnificently in evoking the beauty and majesty of water in its myriad forms. Read the book enough times and you begin to get a real sense of the rise and fall of water’s actions. I also noted that Mora eschews going too deep into her subject matter. The primary concentration is on water as it relates to the landscape worldwide. She doesn’t dwell on something like water’s role in the human body or pepper the text with small sidebars pertaining to facts about water. This is poetry as it relates to liquid. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The bilingual picture book is fast becoming a necessity in the public library setting. Just the other day someone asked if we could have more Bengali/English picture books rather than just straight Bengali, because the parents liked reading both languages to their kids. Yet sadly in the past our bilingual literature has had a rough go of it. Well-intentioned efforts to give these books their own space in the children’s libraries have too often meant that they’re scuttled away in some long-forgotten corner. The patrons who need them most are often too intimidated to ask for them or don’t even know that they exist. So what’s the solution? Interfile them with the English books or all the other languages? Wouldn’t they be just as forgotten in one collection as another? There are no easy answers here and the thought that a book as a beautiful in word and image as Water Rolls could end up forgotten is painful to me.

Since this book travels around the world and touches on the lives of people in different lands and nations it is, by its very definition, multicultural. And to be honest, attaining the label of “multicultural” by simply highlighting different nations is easy work. What sets artist Meilo So’s art apart from other books of this sort is her fearless ability to upset expectations. I am thinking in particular of the image of the wild rice harvest in northern Minnesota. In this picture two children punt a boat through marshland. Their skin is brown, a fact that I am sure Ms. So did on purpose. Too often are white kids the “default” race when books that skate around the world make mention of the U.S. It’s as if the publishers forget that people of races aside from white live in America as well as the rest of the world. As such So elevates the standards for your average round-the-world book.

Every book you pick up and read has to pass through your own personal filters and prejudices before it makes a home for itself in your brain. Let us then discuss what it means to be an English-only speaking American woman looking at this book for the first time. I pick up this book and I instantly assume that the cover is sporting an image of Niagara Falls. On the back of the jacket I come to a similar conclusion that we’re viewing Old Faithful. Thus does the American see the world only in terms of those natural wonders that happen to exist within her own nation’s borders. Turns out, that waterfall on the front is Victoria Falls, found between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. And that geyser? Strokkur in Iceland. With this in mind you can understand why I was grateful for the little key in the back of the book that clearly identifies and labels (in both English and Spanish) where each location in the images can be found. It was interesting too to see each credit saying that the image was “inspired by” (“inspirada por”) its real world equivalent. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about accuracy in works of illustration in picture books. Mostly I’ve been thinking about historical accuracy, but contemporary landscapes raise their own very interesting questions. If Meilo So came up with the “inspired by” label then it may well be that it was thought up to protect her against critics who might look to her view of the Qutang Gorge, say, and declare her positioning of this or that mountain peak a gross flight of fancy. Since she is illustrating both distinct landmarks (the Grand Canyon, Venice’s Grand Canal, the coast of Cabo San Lucas, etc.) alongside places that typify their regions (a fishing boat at sea in Goa, India, a well in a rural village in Kenya, etc.) it is wise to simply give the “inspired by” designation to all images rather than a few here and there so as to avoid confusion.

After soaking in the art page by page I wondered then how much control Ms. Mora had over these images. Did she designate a country and location for each stanza of her poem? The book sports an Author’s Note (but no Artist’s Note, alas) that mentions the places Ms. Mora has traveled too. Look at the list of locations and they do, indeed, appear in the book (China, Holland, Peru, Finland, etc.). So I make the assumption that she told Ms. So what country to draw, though I don’t know for sure.

As a mother of two small children, both under the age of 4, my interest in early brain development has been piqued. And like any mother I berate myself soundly when I feel like my own personal prejudices are being inflicted on my kids. I don’t go gaga for poetry but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t read it to the kiddos as much as possible. Fortunately, books like Water Rolls, Water Rises make the job easy. Easy on the eyes and the ears, this is one clever little book that can slip onto any home library shelf without a second thought. Sublime.

On shelves now.

Source: F&G sent from publisher for review.

Like This? Then Try:

• Water Can Be… by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Violeta Dabija

• At the Same Moment Around the World by Clotilde Perrin

• All the Water in the World, by George Ella Lyon, ill. Katherine Tillotson

Today’s guest blog post is by Pat Mora, award-winning author and founder of El día le los niños, El día de los libros/Children’s Day, Book Day.

All the books Pat recommends are available at deeply discounted prices on the First Book Marketplace to educators and programs serving children in need.

A lifetime of reading teaches us the pleasure and power of books, and that literature at all levels and from all cultures can not only teach us but humanize us.

Through the writings of others we can share the experiences of a Midwest family on a farm years ago, the fear of a Jewish family during the Holocaust or the internment terror of Japanese families here during World War II. As readers, we can share in the triumph of a black family or an Egyptian family that writes a play about its history or traditions. By reading writers from the diverse cultures that are part of our United States, children learn new songs, celebrations, folk tales and stories with a cultural context.

This is what El día de los niños, El día de los libros/Children’s Day, Book Day is all about – implementing creative literacy strategies using diverse books and planning Día book fiestas for all children, from all cultures, in all languages. High-quality children’s books that reflect our rich plurality are able to reveal the many ways we are all alike as well as the ways we are all different.

Another major element in Día is honoring. Do we connect our literacy goals and efforts with really honoring each child and honoring home languages and cultures? Once honoring culture becomes a priority, creative and dedicated staff and families can propose and share ideas. Teachers and parents can create a sense of “bookjoy” with stories, games, literacy crafts and read-alouds. Coaching parents who did not have diverse literacy experiences growing up is of particular importance; whether a family is Spanish- speaking, English-speaking, Chinese-speaking, etc., we need to invest in respectfully and innovatively coaching multilingual families to join us in sharing a love of books.

Today, twenty-five percent of our children live in poverty – including one-third of black and Hispanic children. By 2018, children of color will be the majority in the U.S. What can we do to serve them and their families well? Celebrating Día and creatively championing the importance of literacy for children from all backgrounds is one way to start. Here’s to becoming a reading nation!

Here are 4 titles that can help you spread “bookjoy” and celebrate El día de los niños, El Día de los libros/Children’s Day, Book Day with children in your community! Sign up with First Book to access these and other great titles on the First Book Marketplace.

You can learn more about Pat Mora and El día de los niños, El Día de los libros/Children’s Day, Book Day on Pat’s website.

The post Four Books to Celebrate El día de los niños appeared first on First Book Blog.

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15, a period chosen because it bookends the independence days of five Central American nations (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica, Sept. 15), Mexico (Sept. 16) and Chile (Sept. 18), as well as Columbus Day/Dia de la Raza (Oct. 14 this year in the United States). In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we’ve rounded up five great books that celebrate Latino culture and history.

1. Gracias~Thanks by Pat Mora, illustrated by John Parra

In a series of poetic sentences, a young boy tells about some of the everyday things for which he is thankful in both English and Spanish.

2. Marisol McDonald Doesnt’ Match/Marisol McDonald no combina by Monica Brown, illustrated by Sara Palacios

A young Peruvian-Scottish-American girl tries to match but finds it’s much more fun to live outside the box.

3. The Storyteller’s Candle/La velita de los cuentos by Lucía González, illustrated by Lulu Delacre

Award-winners Lucía González and Lulu Delacre celebrate the magic of the public library and the remarkable efforts of New York City’s first Latina librarian, Pura Belpré.

4. Poems to Dream Together/Poemas para soñar juntos by Francisco X. Alarcón, illustrated by Paula S. Barragán

A bilingual collection of poetry that celebrates family, community, nature, and the positive power of dreams to shape our future.

5. Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Fifteen-year-old Odilia and her younger sisters embark on a journey to return a dead man to his family in Mexico, and must outwit monsters and witches to make it back home again in this YA fantasy that retells Homer’s The Odyssey.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National Hispanic Heritage month occurs each year, from September 15 to October 15. It is a time to celebrate the history and culture of Hispanics and Latinos in the United States along with the contributions they have made to American society.

This specific time of the year was chosen because the U.S government wanted to pay tribute to the Hispanic tradition during a time when many Latin American countries celebrate their independence. September marks the independence anniversaries of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico and Chile.

Lee & Low Books is proud to have many wonderful titles written and illustrated by Latino/a authors and illustrators. Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in your own home, classroom, or library with these favorites:

A young boy gives thanks to all that he loves and is thankful for in the lighthearted bilingual celebration, Gracias • Thanks, written by Pat Mora and illustrated by John Parra.

Carmen Lomas Garza’s Family Pictures shows different aspects of the traditional Mexican American culture in which she grew up, including picking cactus and making tamales with her family.

Her second book, In My Family, depicts birthday celebrations, eating empanadas and other fond memories of Carme’s childhood in Kingsville, Texas.

Family Pictures and In My Family are two of the most beloved books published by Children’s Book Press, and we’re thrilled to bring them back into print as part of our CBP imprint!

REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and Spanish Speaking, is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary and will be holding it’s 4th National Conference this week. The four day conference starts Sept 15 (which coincides with the start off National Hispanic Heritage Month) at the Westin Hotel in Denver, CO, USA and is expected to draw over 500 participants. The theme for the conference is “Elevating Latino Services to a Higher Level: Juntos in the Mile High City!” and a plethora of events have been scheduled including seminars, author readings, continuing education workshops, enlightening panel discussions, and vendor exhibits.

If you are in the Denver area and interested in attending, you should know that you don’t have to be a member of REFORMA to attend. Non-members can still register and are welcome to come participate as well as purchase exhibit only passes. Click here to download the schedule and see what might appeal to you.

Among the many great events planned is an author luncheon with award winning author and literacy advocate Pat Mora on Sept 16 from 12:30 – 2:00 pm

Extreme Yum: The Zing of Sharing Bookjoy & Growing Día

A former teacher, university administrator, consultant, and the author of many award winning children’s books, Pat is the also the founder of the family literary initiative El día de los niños / El día de los libros, Children’s Day / Book Day (Día), now an initiative of at the American Library Association. The year-long commitment to linking all children to books, languages and cultures, and of sharing what Ms. Mora calls “Bookjoy,” culminates in Día events across the country. Día celebrated its 15th Anniversary in April 2011.

To learn more about Pat Mora  read our interview with her here.

PaperTigers’ September 2007 and September 2008 issues focused on National Hispanic Heritage Month and include interviews, articles, books and artwork that capture the Hispanic temper of our times.

This year is the 15th anniversary for El día de los niños/El día de los libros! Happy birthday to this wonderful celebration of children and books from all linguistic and cultural backgrounds!

There are lots of celebrations going on and one I’m particularly excited about is the Pura Belpré Celebración at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans this June.  Organizers tell us that they’re going to celebrate it as a Quinceañera with a traditional promenade.  It’s going to be fabulous – we only hope we can sneak away from our booth long enough to participate!

For your collections, here are some Spanish and bilingual books to consider for your Día celebrations:

• Ada, Alma Flor and F. Isabel Campoy  ¡MUU, MOO!: Rimas de animales/Animal Nursery Rhymes. Illus. Vivi Escriva. 2010
• Ada, Alma Flor and F. Isabel Campoy TEN LITTLE PUPPIES/Diez Perritos.  Illus. Ulises Wensell. 2011
• Brown, Monica SIDE BY SIDE/Lado a lado.  Illus. Joe Cepeda. 2010
• Dorros, Arthur  MAMA AND ME.  Illus. Rudy Gutierrez. 2011
• Dorros, Arthur  RADIO MAN/Don radio. 1997 (paperback)
• Guy, Ginger Foglesong  BRAVO! Illus. Rene King Moreno. 2010
• Guy, Ginger Foglesong  MY GRANDMA/Mi abuelita.  Illus. Vivi Escriva. 2007
• Lacamara, Laura  FLOATING ON MAMA’S SONG/Flotando en la canción de mamá. Illus. Yuyi Morales. 2010
• Martinez, Rueben  ONCE UPON A TIME/Habia una vez: Traditional Latin American Tales/Cuentos tradicionales latinoamericanos.  Illus. Raul Colon. 2010
• Mora, Pat  BOOK FIESTA! Illus. Rafael Lopez.  2009
• Mora, Pat WIGGLING POCKETS/Los bolsillos saltarines.  Illus. Maribel Suarez. 2009
• Reiser, Lynn  Tortillas and Lullabies/Tortillas y cancioncitas. Illus. Corazones Valientes. 2008

This list is by no means exhaustive (many of these authors and illustrators are prolific with rich and beautiful books in their backlist), but hopefully it’ll help get you started.

And make sure to check out the Día website – there’s a wealth of information about hosting your own Día event, events going

April: Texas Library Association Conference
May: International Reading Association Conference
May: SLJ Day of Dialog/BEA
June: ALA Annual Conference

It’s crazy…but we also have lots of fun.  First up is TLA in Austin where we have a phenomenal line-up of authors signing with us:

Wednesday, April 13th
10:15 am – 11:00 am Pat Mora (author aisles)
10:15 am – 11:00 am Rafael Lopez (author aisles)
11:30 am – 12:30 pm Lauren Oliver (author aisles)
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Will Hobbs (author aisles)
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Bettina Restrepo (author aisles)
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Crystal Allen (Harper booth 1824)
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Sophie Jordan (Harper booth 1824)
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Tera Lynn Childs (Harper booth 1824)
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm Suzanne Harper (Harper booth 1824)

Thursday, April 14th
9:00 am – 10:00 am Diane Stanley (author aisles)
11:30 am – 12:00 pm Jason Henderson (Harper booth 1824)
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Jennifer Archer (Harper booth 1824)
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm Kevin Henkes (author aisles)
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm Don Tate and Audrey Vernick (Harper booth 1824)

And don’t miss JAMIE LEE CURTIS as the Keynote Speaker on Wednesday, April 13th at 9:00 am!

Aside from our outstanding authors, we’ll have galleys galore at our booth (#1824) and we hope you’ll stop by to say hi to Patty, Robin, and me!

See you in Texas!

~ Laura

February has arrived and with it Black History Month in Canada and African American History Month in the USA. To see some of the celebrations planned in the USA click here and in Canada click here. In honor of the month, many websites and bloggers are highlighting the richness of children’s literature that focuses on Africa, African Americans, African Canadians and the African diaspora. Here’s a small sample of what’s being offered:

The Brown Bookshelf has launched 28 Days Later, a month-long showcase of the best in picture books, middle grade and young adult novels written and illustrated by African Americans.

Margo Tenenbaum’s blog The Fourth Musketeer specializes in historical fiction for children and teens, and throughout the month of February will focus on reviewing African American titles.

Reading Rockets.Org has just updated it’s Black History Month section where you’ll discover great online resources for the classroom and for family discussions. I’ve just spent the morning watching the video interviews with award-winning writers and illustrators.

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has compiled a list of Canadian books that are recommended reads for Black History Month.

Check out School Library Journal‘s Places in the Heart: Celebrating Black History Month article in which top children’s authors were asked to choose their favorite children’s book about the black experience. Rick Margolis says “The title could be for kids of any age—fro

I treated myself with an older picture book at this week's library visit. Gracias, Thanks had caught my eye in so many mentions lately for it's many awards. The writing and artwork are truly beautiful and illustrate what I hope to instill in my own son: thankfulness, for the little and big things in life. And I suppose a soul that notices those little things in the first place.
The narrative follows one boy, from day to night - but really, it is many days, just the best of life's pleasures. There is humor too, not just sweetness. Some balance that would appeal to a wider range of children.
I love how naturally the bi-lingual text by Pat Mora fits into the design of this book - surely much consideration at work there. Can you picture an Abuelita reading this in Spanish, while a mother reads in English?
I sat for so long (a rare thing for me lately) just admiring the way John Parra blends real and imagined imagery. Crafting a world that feels like a memory. And the postscript makes this a stronger story for older readers as well.

Children’s Day/Book Day, also known as El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Día), is a celebration of children, families, and reading held annually in the USA on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Founded by author Pat Mora in 1996, Día is now hosted by the Association for Library Service for Children (ALSC) along with founding partner REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking.

Visit the ALSC’s  Dia Celebrations website to see what is planned this year. You can register your library’s Día program, print brochures, use the interactive map to see what other communities are doing to celebrate as well as access the updated list of books and list of Web sites for Día 2010.

Other great ways to get into the Día spirit are to visit Pat Mora’s blog Bookjoy! and also to read Pat’s book Book Fiesta! Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day: Celebremos El día de los niños/El día de los libros. Illustrated by Rafael López and dedicated to the members of REFORMA and ALSC, “who connect children and books,” Book Fiesta! is a vibrant bilingual homage to the importance of reading and books in children’s lives. The book includes a letter from Pat about why she founded El día de los niños/ El día de los libros, and suggestions for celebrating the occasion creatively and with gusto. Read PaperTigers’ review Book Fiesta here.

Interested in learning how you can get a Día celebration organized in your community? Click here for information on upcoming educational sessions such as the one to be held June 28, 2010, during the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. entitled “Día is Diversity in Action”.

Springtime not only brings more poetry into our classroom, but it also ignites a desire to date for many middle school students.  When I taught fifth grade, I noticed some of my students were often lovestruck during the final months of school, even though they were just little kids a few months earlier.  A few [...]

As a poet, I’m always interested in new poetic forms.  Join Hands! by Pat Mora (with photographs by George Ancona, Charlesbridge, 2008) introduced me to the pantoum.  The pantoum is a poetic form derived from Malaysia.  It is composed of quatrains where the second and fourth lines are repeated as the first and third lines of the following quatrain.  In Join Hands!, Mora uses the form (with slight alterations in her repeating lines) to create a poem about celebrating life through dancing, singing, masquerading and parading.  The book takes you through the lines, one line per page, with accompanying photograph per line.  A few Spanish words like ‘amigos’ and ‘canciones’ are used. (Mora is known for her bilingual Spanish/English books.)   The explanation of the form comes at the end of the book.  I wish it had come at the beginning, however!  Reading the text linearly while viewing the picture made it seem a bit confusing.  However, I did enjoy the lively photographs by George Ancona,  accompanying each line.  They feature children dancing and strutting and holding hands.

Have you heard of the pantoum or tried your hand at writing one?  A few months after I read this book, I encountered a pantoum written by Canadian poet, Robyn Sarah in her latest book, A Pause for Breath.  The form seemed vaguely familiar when I suddenly realized I had encountered it in Mora’s book.

This week’s Poetry Friday host is Danika at Teaching Books.

10 beautiful books for Valentine's Day—poetry, love, and stickers.

Rafael Lopez, winner of the 2010  Pura Belpré Illustrator Award.
More  American Library Association news here: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/2010medawardwin.cfm
See a slideshow of Rafael's work here:
http://www.papertigers.org/gallery/Rafael_Lopez/01.html

Earlier today the American Library Association (ALA)  announced the top books, audiobooks and video for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, King, Newbery and Printz awards – at its Midwinter Meeting in Boston.

A complete list of all the 2010 literary award winners can be  seen here. Highlights include:

Winner of the John Newbery Medal ( for most outstanding contribution to children’s literature):
When You Reach Me written by Rebecca Stead

Winner of the Caldecott Medal (for most distinguished American picture book for children):
The Lion & the Mouse illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney

Winner of the Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award (recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults):

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Winner of the Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award
My People illustrated by Charles R. Smith Jr. and written by Langston Hughes

Winner of the Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award (honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience)

Book Fiesta!: Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day; Celebremos El día de los niños/El día de los libros illustrated by Rafael López and written by Pat Mora

Winner of the Pura Belpré (Author) Award
Return to Sender written by Julia Alvarez

Gracias / Thanks (English and Spanish Edition) by Pat Mora. Illustrations by John Parra. Lee & Low Books. 2009. Review copy supplied by publisher.

The Plot: A young boy gives thanks for the people and things in his life, starting with "for the sun that wakes me up so I don't sleep for years and years and grow a long, white beard, thanks."

In both English and Spanish: "Por el sol que me despierta y no permite que siga durmiendo por anos y anos, y que me crezca una larga barba blanca, gracias."

The Good: Anyone (boy, girl, adult, child) will identify with what the narrator is thankful for. And, of course, the reader can then add what they are thankful for. The book is both mirror and window, anyone seeing a ladybug; and (for some), window when the boy gives thinks for his "Abuelita."

I loved the illustrations by Parra; they, add to the multicultural aspect of the book, along with the use of Spanish and English. The folk-art story is both appealing and also works for this story; additional details flesh out the story. When the "ladybug that landed on my finger," the narrator has a book on insects, another open to a page on ladybugs, a baseball glove; stylized birds and butterflies fill up the page. The colors are rich and gorgeous; blues, yellows, reds that spring off the page.

I'm posting this on Thanksgiving, because it's a great book to use for giving thanks. But, because there is no mention of holidays here, it's not limited to Thanksgiving and can be used any time.



Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Guest Blogger Lydia Breiseth is the manager of the bilingual English-Spanish website Colorín Colorado, whose mission is to provide educators and parents with information about teaching English language learners to read and succeed. Ms. Breiseth began her career teaching English to adults in Ecuador with the educational exchange program WorldTeach, and has subsequently taught English and Spanish in a variety of educational and family literacy programs to students of all ages. Prior to working at Colorín Colorado, Ms. Breiseth served as the Community Affairs Liaison at Telemundo Washington DC, managing outreach initiatives to the region’s Hispanic community.

From Durham to Salt Lake City, from Albuquerque to Ypsilanti, from Birmingham to Boulder, libraries around the country are getting ready for a celebration that is gaining popularity each year—El día de los niños/El día de los libros (The Day of the Book/The Day of the Child).

This year marks the 13th anniversary of a celebration founded by children’s author Pat Mora.  The holiday is the American version of the traditional Mexican holiday El día de los niños.  After Pat Mora took up the cause in 1997 to combine the focus on children with a strong focus on reading, the U.S. Congress officially designated April 30 as “Day of the Child” a year later.

Why has “Día” grown so much each year?  It may have something to do with the increasing Latino population around the country. Communities that didn’t traditionally have a large Latino population now are making adjustments to respond to their new neighbors in all sectors of society, including schools and libraries.  Día offers a wonderful opportunity to invite Spanish-speaking families to get to know the local public library and all of the programs and resources it has to offer – including growing collections of Spanish and bilingual books.  It also exposes the rest of the community to the rich selection of bilingual children’s literature available, such as multicultural books written by Latino or Latina authors in addition to Spanish translations of children’s classics.

If you are looking for a Día celebration in your neighborhood or would like some ideas for Día activities, here are some great resources from Colorín Colorado, Pat Mora, and the Association for Library Service for Children:

• Colorín Colorado: Día Resources in English and Spanish (including a video interview with Pat Mora about Día)
• Pat Mora’s homepage, with ideas and information about Día
• Pat Mora’s blog, Bookjoy
• The Association for Library Service for Children (the official home of Día, offering an interactive map of national celebrations)
• The Official Día 2009 Brochure (PDF)
  

You may also be interested in Colorín Colorado’s bilingual book recommendations for children, as well as our parent articles about visiting the library (available in English and Spanish).

Have a wonderful time preparing for and enjoying Día – and when it’s over, remember that every day is a great day to celebrate children and reading in any language!