Quick Summary
On April 30, Latino/x communities celebrate "El Día de los Niños" (which translates to “The Day of the Children”) a day to show appreciation for Children and all they do. Over time, the holiday has grown to include advocacy for children's health, well-being, and education (including literacy).
As a kid growing up, Christmas came twice a year, well kind of. Growing up in a Latino/x household, in addition to Christmas we also celebrated El Día de los Niños (which translates to “The Day of the Children”) every April 30. As the name suggests, this is traditionally a day celebrating children and usually consists of parents spending extra time with their kids, and buying them gifts. It is also a day to show appreciation for all the things children do, which can range from taking care of siblings to cooking dinner to helping their parents when they ask. Over time, the holiday has grown to include advocacy for children's health, well-being, and education (including literacy).
That is why April 30 is now also "El Dia de los Libros," a day to promote resources that encourage the importance of literacy, learning, and cultural awareness and understanding. The idea of adding El dia de los Libros to the already established El Día de los Niños was explored by Pat Mora in 1996. Following outreach by Mora to various Latino/x library associations and organizations, the first El Día de los Niños/El Día de los libros was celebrated in 1997. Since then, El Dia has been an occasion for promoting access to resources that celebrate diverse cultures, languages, and experiences. To learn more, please read the Texas Library Association’s A Brief History of el día de los niños/El día de los libros and the description on ALA’s Association for Library Services to Children website.
Growing up, I always read a lot and spent a lot of my free time in libraries. Having access to the resources libraries provide was valuable to me, and I believe everyone should have the same benefit. Despite this, I know that not everyone in my community has the same opportunity to take advantage of the library. But through Ebooks Minnesota, thousands of ebooks are always available to any reader, no matter where they are in Minnesota.
To celebrate El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros, here are some of the titles I definitely would have checked out on Ebooks Minnesota! As a kid, I was very into drawing dinosaurs and mythical creatures like dragons or phoenixes. Dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures you can draw and How to draw dragons, trolls, and other dangerous monsters were some titles I definitely would have spent hours on! I also remember being very into urban legends and mythology, so I would have definitely taken a look at Handbook to Bigfoot, Nessie, and other unexplained creatures to help expand my theories. Hercules would have been on my list, too. Finally, having the “Avatar, the last airbender” series of graphic novels available at all times would have been irresistible. That series is based on my favorite show!
These are just a few of the tantalizing options Ebooks Minnesota offers. I encourage you to check these out, and do some exploring on your own. What a great way to celebrate El dia de los libros!
