Pat Mora

Advocacy for Children’s Day, Book Day
El día de los niños, El día de los libros (Día)

Let’s create a powerful National Community, a Children’s Day, Book Day Community, connected by our commitment to the potential of each child and to the pleasure and power of literacy.

Let’s remind one another often that every day is Children’s Day, Book Day.

Let’s champion children and literacy and creatively and concretely introduce Día to potential partners.

Let’s affirm home languages and diverse cultures, steadily learning from other Día advocates.

Let’s assist school, public and higher education libraries to diversify their collections to reflect our national diversity and global connections.

Let’s commit to developing programs that assist parents of our diverse families to become effective literacy mentors, our partners.

Let’s encourage and assist all families to build home libraries, to annually plan April Book Fiestas at home, and to take pride in being reading families.

Let’s learn together to be more compelling in articulating the importance and relevance of our literacy goals to our various communities, exploring new ways to share what we’ve learned in our city, state, region and country.

Let’s collaborate: honor the perspectives we each bring, listen with open hearts and minds, respect our varying styles and unite for the well-being and future of our children, our nation’s future.

Let’s reach out to new partners including elected officials, school administrators and faculty preparing future librarians and teachers, always willing to question our assumptions about how to reach our goals and who our appropriate partners can be.

Let’s remember that effective advocates need to endure the challenges of learning new skills; in Día’s case: partnership building, fund raising, marketing, publicity, public speaking, social networking, true collaboration.

Let’s create April Book Fiesta planning communities locally and nationally that reflect the diversity we espouse, and let’s invite social service agencies, the media, the young and seniors to enrich our work.

Let’s design Children’s Day, Book Day programs and celebrations that—though they may include food, music, dancing and prizes—create positive and memorable literacy experiences.

Let’s involve children as presenters in our various literacy events and at Día Book Fiestas and celebrate our children’s talents.

Let’s thank and celebrate our partners, and praise leaders who become Día champions because they are committed to assisting all children to become learners.

Let’s remember that though change is slow, people and institutions can change. Our challenge is to be persistent, innovative and effective advocates. Let’s see ourselves as central rather than peripheral, as a force for positive change that welcomes ideas for expanding and deepening the work of Children’s Day, Book Day.

Let’s creatively make Día fun for ourselves and others, gathering together when possible to re-excite one another about Día’s potential to enrich lives and strengthen families and communities.

Let’s unite our energies, knowledge, and diverse skills, unleashing our creativity, adding our individual zing to sharing and creating a nation of readers.

Download a pdf of these thoughts.