Over time, you’ve probably seen posts about El día de los niños/El día de los libros on ALSC’s blog. Día is observed on April 30 each year, but any time of year (and throughout the year!) is a great time for Día celebrations of children, literacy, and diverse books, languages, and cultures.

Beyond a perfunctory description of Día, however, readers may not really have a clear picture of what Día celebrations look like. Since spring is a common time for holding Día-inspired events and programs, the national program directory is starting to fill with scheduled events.

How Some Libraries Will Celebrate

Here is a sampling of activities in case you’ve ever wondered what Día celebrations look like:

• A special family storytime featuring an Uzbek classic tale shared in both Russian and Uzbek by a storyteller. After the story, families will create traditional Uzbek embroidered hats (tubeteyka). Children and caregivers can bond through storytelling, art, and culture.
• The event will include resources, food trucks, music, dance, crafts, and a zoom presentation with a Belpré Honor author.
• A bilingual music presentation with interactive audience participation will teach basic vocabulary words. Each family receives a free literacy goody bag.
• The event includes literacy-themed activity stations, book giveaways, early literacy tips, and a raffle.
• The afternoon features a live cultural performance, crafts, snacks, and a multilingual storytime.
• Children will receive free books, in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and bilingual, to help build home libraries. The event includes multicultural crafts and activities and a musical performance.

Quintessential Día

As you can see from the examples, Día celebrations can be big or small and typically feature stories, crafts, music, food, and free books. Live performers often help provide a party vibe. Program planners this year have reported special guests, including folk dancers, musicians, singers, a drum group, face painter, caricaturist, balloon artist, professional storytellers, and authors/illustrators.

And, of course, diverse languages and cultures are a key part of Día events! Programs submitted so far this year feature the following languages:

• Arabic
• English
• French
• German
• Hindi
• Japanese
• Korean
• Mandarin
• Nepali
• Polish
• Romanian
• Russian
• Spanish
• Uzbek

The free 2025 Día reading lists, in English and Spanish, complement and supplement celebrations. And even if a library isn’t hosting a full-fledged Día celebration, the lists can be a helpful handout for families or part of a book display of outstanding, diverse books for children.

Big or small, share your Día plans with us! Whatever the look of a Día event, a celebration of children, literacy, and diversity is always a beautiful sight!

All images created by ALA’s Production Services team.

Laura Schulte-Cooper (she/her/hers) is Senior Program Officer for Communications in the ALSC office. Her favorite book on this year’s Día reading lists is Five Stories by Ellen Weinstein.

The post A Closer Look at Día Celebrations appeared first on ALSC Blog.

 Over time, you’ve probably seen posts about El día de los niños/El día de los libros on ALSC’s blog. Día is observed on April 30 each year, but any time of year (and throughout the year!) is a great time for Día celebrations of children, literacy, and diverse books, languages, and cultures. Beyond a perfunctory description of Día, however, readers may not really have a clear picture of what Día celebrations look like. Since spring is a common time for holding Día-inspired events and programs, the national program directory is starting to fill with scheduled events. How Some Libraries Will Celebrate Here is a sampling of activities in case you’ve ever wondered what Día celebrations look like: Quintessential Día As you can see from the examples, Día celebrations can be big or small and typically feature stories, crafts, music, food, and free books. Live performers often help provide a party…
The post A Closer Look at Día Celebrations appeared first on ALSC Blog.  Read More

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