Celebrating Reading With Children

Before reading Book Fiesta, I had never heard of Children’s Book Day. A whole day devoted to celebrating reading with children? Yes please! This sounds like my kind of fiesta. Since 1996, Book Day/Children’s Day is a time dedicated to sharing Book Joy (my new favorite term) with children. This reading-friendly holiday is featured in the picture book Book Fiesta by Pat Mora and Rafael López, and you can listen to it by clicking the image below:

More Ways To Celebrate Reading With Children:

1. Make it fun and cozy: If you know me, you know “fun” and “cozy” are all I want out of life! So, when I do any kind of reading activities with my kids or in my classrooms, I make sure they are both engaging and comfortable. We can sit wherever we like, with whatever supports we need. Some kids want to be curled up on a pile of pillows while others need to move while we read. Some need chairs with backs while others might need to sit on a ball chair. Once we are comfortable, it’s much easier to make reading fun! You can use different voices, have a mini dance party every time you read a “magic word” in a book, or make up games or open-ended activities to go along with the books. We can even do an activity like felting while being read to because sometimes it helps to keep hands busy in order to focus on the story. (This can be a positive way to strengthen reading comprehension and retention for some people. Me included.)
2. Make It A Tradition: Family or classroom traditions around reading or celebrating Book Day can be lots of fun! There are all kinds of ways to do this, by following some of the traditional Book Day celebrations or adding your own spin on it. If you already have family or classroom traditions. that you honor, maybe you can use one of them? A special meal or a way to decorate your home or classroom is usually a hit, and easy to incorporate into this celebratory day. You can also have a traditional book that you read together every year. Maybe even the picture book Book Fiesta?!
3. Connections!: What are your children interested in right now? Find books on that and dive in. Having children pick their own books will help them to get more excited about reading and learning!
4. Community Love: Get involved with your local library, your school or learning community, and reading groups on the regular, but also for Book Day! You can see if they have anything fun planned, or maybe you want to plan something with them? All you need is a fun story time to celebrate, but throw in some yummy snacks and a bookish craft and you have a real Book Fiesta!

However you share all of your Book Joy, whether at home with a big stack of books to read together or out in your community, it’s always a good time to celebrate reading with children. I hope you read something you love today and every day!