It’s April. How are you celebrating kids and books, or should I say niños y libros?
You’ve heard me speak on this blog before about the importance of supporting the annual Día de los Niños Dia de los Libros events every April. Libraries all over the country will have special programming to support multicultural books and kids, which you can check out by typing in your zip code on the official Día site.
But this year, the Library of Congress – the grand dame of libraries – is doing a live, national webcast in honor of Día, too. It will feature scholars and authors, with a special focus on the spectacular lives and contributions of powerhouse Latinx librarians Arturo Schomburg and Pura Belpré. The pdf is here. (DiaProgramDescription short_sdw .)If you hurry, you can be part of it.
Just in case you’re not familiar, Schomburg and Belpré were AfroLatino librarians who advocated for justice and diverse children’s literature during the Harlem Renaissance. They were contemporaries and friends – and they saw the same problems in terms of lack of material that truly represented their communities. Their legacy endures in the formidable collections they left behind and in the medal named in their honor.
Pura Belpré storytelling at La Casita Maria community center in East Harlem
Here’s the lineup.
Dr. Marilisa Jimenez of Lehigh University who specializes in Latinx literature and in the contributions of Schomburg and Belpré;
Carole Boston Weatherford and Eric Velasquez, the decorated author and illustrator team who brought us the award-winning picture book, Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library (Candlewick Press 2017;)
Representatives from the (stunning) Hispanic Reading Room at the Library of Congress, who will share some of the holdings in the LOC’s collection;
and me, speaking on giving kids access to their heroes and to their libraries.
If you want your organization to be part of the live interactive videoconference (so you can ask questions, etc.) questions, etc.) go here.
Only four slots are left, so don’t wait.
We just posted a link to this wonderful event at the Teaching for Change Facebook. However, it looks like the day “Tuesday” should be “Monday” on the date.
You’re right! Thanks!