Tag: Spanish

Blogger Jonathan Dolce

Día! El día de los niños – El día de los libros – Children’s Book Day

| Jonathan Dolce|3 Comments
selection of books celebrating diversity

Día! is upon us! So, you’re reading this and thinking OMG, this is not so LOL when Día! is upon us!  Don’t panic!  There’s still time left to make this a meaningful Día!   Sure, you may have somehow missed out on REFORMA’s March 31st deadline for applying for its Día! grants, but with a little planning, and some great resources, you can do this! Do YOU Día? But, I hear you say, Jonathan, I’m not Hispanic and I don’t speak Spanish above the “hola me llamo [insert name]” level.  Let’s review what Día is all about! El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), commonly known as Día, is a celebration every day of children, families, and reading that culminates yearly on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of ALL linguistic and cultural backgrounds.  Thus, you see that it’s not just about Spanish speakers.  Indeed, I…

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Blogger Jonathan Dolce

Children in Crisis: Literacy brings Hope

| Jonathan Dolce|3 Comments

Supporting Detained Children It’s little wonder that on ALSC’s listserv that the topic of supporting children caught up in a web of immigration policy came up.  Frankly, it’s in the youth services librarian’s DNA.  We do all we can every day for every child who walks through our library’s doors.  And for those we encounter in our outreach efforts, we do that much more.  It is not an unreasonable leap that librarians nationwide would want to get library materials and services to detained children. Why Literacy Behind Bars is so Important Before we delve into efforts by REFORMA and other non-profits and NGOs, the question that you need to be ready for is simply “why?” If children are being detained, whatever the circumstance, literacy is integral – key – to their chances for success. Here’s your top-5 why’s and ALL of these are about kids right here: 2/3 of students…

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Blogger Public Awareness Committee

REFORMA and the Children in Crisis Task Force

| Public Awareness Committee|1 Comment
Art from "The Arrival"

Thousands of unaccompanied refugee children fleeing violence in their home countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have crossed the United States border and turned themselves in where they are being held in detention centers and placed in removal proceedings. In June 2014, at the ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas, REFORMA (National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos & the Spanish Speaking) decided to form the Children in Crisis Task Force to get books into the hands of these children while their future is determined. The Children in Crisis Task Force Co-Chairs are looking for ways  to partner with immigrant youth centers. Co-Chair Patrick Sullivan states, “Vendors are waiting in the wings ready to donate books.” Through monetary donations REFORMA is ready to purchase books, backpacks and school supplies. In September 2014, National REFORMA President Silvia Cisneros personally delivered the first shipment of donated books to McAllen,…

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Blogger Dan Bostrom

ALSC Webinar: ECRR @ your library® Toolkit w/ Spanish-Speaking Communities

| Dan Bostrom|1 Comment

Join ALSC and PLA for an introduction to the 2nd edition of the Every Child Ready to Read @ your library Toolkit for Spanish-speaking Communities. This one-hour webinar is designed for librarians and library staff who are interested in reaching Spanish-speaking families with early literacy information. This same webinar will be held two different times: 11am Central/12pm Eastern, Wed., November 5 3pm Central/4pm Eastern, Wed., November 5 The Every Child Ready to Read @ your library Toolkit for Spanish-Speaking Communities is available from the ALA Store. Information on webinar registration is available from the ALSC Online Learning site.

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Books

Oranges and Elefantes: ECRR2 en Espanol #alsc14

| Karen Choy|Leave a comment

A highlight of yesterday was a group singalong of “Los Elefantes,” a tune that’s perfect for Spanish and bilingual storytimes. Abigail Morales was showing “Every Child Ready to Read en Espanol” attendees how to enrich “Los Elefantes” by clothespinning paper elephants to a string to visually reinforce the counting component of the song. Abigail, Ana Elloa Pavon, and Saroj Ghoting provided many tips on how to implement ECRR into libraries serving Spanish-speaking communities. A handy kit helps librarians share reading, writing, playing, writing, and singing literacy tips and is available through the ALA Store. Not sure if the kit meets your needs? Abigail shared how the San Diego Library personalized the kit, making it more culturally relevant to the families her staff serves. In addition to “Los Elefantes,” she demonstrated a cool interactive multi-sensory activity using oranges. Ana shared a detailed bibliography of Spanish and bilingual books that can serve as a…

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