Welcome. Bienvenidos. Youkoso. Join Lafayette Public Library in celebrating Week of the Child, Sunday, April 21-Saturday, April 27. While inspired by El día de los niños/El día de los libros, we wanted to share the joy of reading in various languages and forms–so instead of celebrating only one day, we decided we needed to extend it to a week. Invite your friends, family and neighbors to share in the festivities!
About Día
Día is a celebration every day of children, families, and reading, culminating annually on April 30, that promotes literacy for children of all cultures, languages, and backgrounds. Also known as Children’s Day, Book Day, this initiative was started in 1997 by author Pat Mora, and is observed nationally by the American Library Association, and libraries across the country.
International Tea, Sunday April 21, 2-4pm
Kick off the week with this annual tradition. The Tea is an opportunity to gather with community members to share tea, snacks and information about various countries and traditions. The event features tea and snacks from Argentina, Bangladesh, England, Japan, Mexico, and Thailand. It is a lovely way to travel around the world and get to know your neighbors. Maybe it will inspire you to check out books, learn a new language, or even host a table next year.
Storytime Monday-Friday, 10:30am
We love Storytime! What better way to celebrate Week of the Child than to invite the community to share songs and books in their language or from their culture?
Monday – local author Jennifer Nicole Bacon. We are so lucky to have Jennifer read her book “I Am an Antiracist Superhero!”
Tuesday
– Jennifer Choy from Signing Tree will spend the morning incorporating signs into her stories and songs. Great for all levels–and what a wonderful way to encourage communication with all ages. Have a young child? Check out “My First Book of Sign Language” by Joan Halub.
Wednesday – CU Boulder Theatre & Dance Department presents “The Surprising Story of the Three Little Pigs.” The show features some of your favorite fairy tales–The Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff–but not as you, or they, have ever seen them before.
Thursday – In keeping with our bilingual Storytime, we have librarian and special guest, Longmont Bilingual Librarian and Outreach Coordinator Lilian Bucio. She brings many years of experience providing engaging programming and activities in English and Spanish. You will walk away having learned new words in Spanish. (Try out the Hoopla suggestions below for more Spanish learning fun.)
Friday – spend the morning with guest Satsuki Howell for Japanese stories and songs. Have you ever wanted to travel to Japan or learn the language? Share that joy with your little ones while learning new songs to sing together as a family. Check out the engaging picture book “Jimi’s Book of Japanese.”
Finally, we end the week on Saturday at 10:30am with Opera Colorado – “Step inside Bravo Books where stories come to life!” There you will meet the Finleys, owners of the bookstore. They know how magical a story can be. As the books open, the stories come to life through opera!
More to Try
Try out some Hoopla resources related to our Storytime themes, visit the teapots on display in the glass case on the second floor, or walk the gallery admiring the BVSD Art show (on display through May 17) featuring 90 original student pieces from Lafayette Elementary, Sanchez Elementary, Ryan Elementary, Angevine Middle, Aspen Creek PK-8, Birth Elementary, Emerald Elementary and Kohl Elementary.
Learn with Hoopla – Have you downloaded the free Hoopla Digital app yet? Connect it to your Lafayette Library Colorado card and start browsing! Both have great resources for learning languages, as well as lots of content in other languages. On Hoopla, try turning on the Kids filter at that top, and then entering a simple search like “learn Spanish” or “learn Japanese,” or “sign language.”
2024 Día Reading Lists from the American Library Association – Most titles (in multiple formats and languages) can be found in our Library Catalog.