April 30th: “Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros”
Opening the World of Books to All Children

By Oralia Garza de Cortés, REFORMA Representative to Día de los Niños: Día de los Libros Initiative.

Efforts to establish April 30th as a national observance of Día de los Niños: Día de los Libros continue.
At a work session this summer in Washington D.C., I had the distinct pleasure of representing REFORMA at a meeting to further develop ideas and plans for a national implementation campaign.  Also at the meeting were representatives of NABE, the National Association of Bilingual Educators, and MANA, a National Latina Organization, as well as our friend and esteemed author Pat Mora.  This work session was funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

REFORMA is committed to promoting Día de los Niños: Día de los Libros, to bring home the message that we value our communities' children and that we want their futures to be grounded in education and made possible by a firm foundation in early literacy experiences.  April 30th was selected as the day of celebration because it reflects a tradional day of celebration in Mexico,  Día de los Niños.  This celebration allows parents to connect children's importance with their child's most valued friend: el libro.

What is your chapter or local library planning for Día de los Niños: Día de los Libros?  We hope you will consider this a special day to celebrate children and books through reading.  Some suggestions for implementing a day of celebration at your local or central branch library follow.  Please email a description of your planned activities and resources to the Niños webmaster who will post these on the REFORMA Día de los Niños: Día de los Libros website. 
Please click on the envelop to email your information. 

Letter from Pat Mora

On behalf of REFORMA, I want to welcome everyone who visits REFORMA’s “Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros” website. ¡Bienvenidos! In 1997, a very special literacy initiative was introduced through a collaborative effort involving schools, libraries and community organizations. Teachers and librarians across the country joined together to celebrate childhood and bilingual literacy using the traditional Latin American celebration “El Día del Niño” (April 30^th) as the vehicle to highlight the importance of honoring children and promoting bilingual literacy. REFORMA (The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish speaking) and the National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE) also joined the collaborative effort to assist in promoting this initiative as an annual event.

Author and poet, Pat Mora, has played a very important role. Her strong, articulate advocacy has been of great benefit to the initiative. REFORMA is honored to coordinate the Estela and Raúl Mora Award, an annual competitive process in which the most exemplary “Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros” program in a school, library or community center is selected and recognized. The winning entry is awarded a plaque and $1,000 stipend (to be used for subsequent “Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros” programming efforts). Pat Mora and her siblings generously support this award and have named the award in honor of their parents.

I want to thank Libbhy Romero who has graciously accepted the assignment to develop and update REFORMA’s Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros website. If you are planning programs this year, please send a brief summary to Libbhy at l.romero@brooklynpubliclibrary.org Libbhy will list your program(s) on this website. In addition, this website offers important links to other Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros resources.

Thank you for your interest in REFORMA’s Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros website. For additional information about REFORMA, you may also want to visit the REFORMA website at www.reforma.org

Muy cordialmente, 

Ben Ocón

REFORMA President, 2002-03