Día de los niños/Día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day)
El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros, also known simply as Día, is a celebration of children, families, and reading that culminates yearly on April 30. “Children’s Day” has been celebrated in many countries around the world officially since 1925.
After learning about Mexico’s tradition of celebrating April 30th as El Día del Niño, children’s book author Pat Mora helped create a new holiday in the United States emphasizing the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds, linking families to diverse books, languages and cultures.
This page is to help California public libraries plan and support Día celebrations and children and family literacy programs.
Todos los niños, todos los días — every child, every day!
Program Ideas, Activities & Planning Guides
- Celebrating Children and Books (American Library Association)
- National ALA Día Program Registry (national database showcasing Día programming on a national level)
- Planning Your Día Celebration Guide (Pat Mora)
Free Artwork and Publicity Tools for Your Día Events
Help Finding Multicultural and Bilingual Children’s Books
- The Brown Bookshelf (designed to push awareness of the myriad Black voices writing for young readers)
- DiverseBookFinder.org (a collection of more than 2,000 children’s picture books featuring people of color and indigenous people)
- Diversity Resources (Cooperative Children’s Book Center)
- Early Childhood Census 2020: We Count! Ebooks for Kids (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators)
- Multicultural Children’s Book Day Resources (website with links to free books and recommended book lists and other resources)
- Multicultural Literature (¡Colorín Colorado!)
- Native American Children’s Literature Recommended Reading List (First Nations Development Institute)
Websites with More Día Celebration Resources & Information
- Bookjoy (Pat Mora)
- Bookspring
- ¡Colorín Colorado!
- First Book
- Idaho Commission for Libraries
- ReadWriteThink
- Texas State Library and Archives
Email us with questions and comments about Día de los Niños.
Tools and Resources for Día Programming
Día library programs:
- 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.
Register Your Día Programs!
The American Library Association has a national database to track Día de los Niños programs in libraries. Please register your programs in this database; it’s a great resource for California libraries to get information about programs at the state level and allows libraries nationwide to benefit from information about your programs and activities for years to come.