McKeown
This year, at the Johnson County Public Library’s Día celebration, guests will learn how to say “hello” to our international neighbors in Johnson County.
At 2 p.m. April 28, the Clark Pleasant branch will host an event for people of all ages to Celebrate Día. El día de los niños/El día de los libros — in English, that’s Children’s Day/Book Day — also known as Día, is an international celebration of children, families and reading. Putting an emphasis on promoting literacy in all children, Día connects children to books from different cultures and languages.
At Celebrate Día, guests are invited to listen to a storytime reading of “Say Hello” by Rachel Isadora. “Say Hello” is the story of a little girl who greets her neighbors in multiple languages while walking with her mother. After the reading, students from JCPL’s Adult Learning Center, JCPL staff and community members will teach guests how to say “hello” in their native language.
Guests will also be invited to enjoy a traditional Chinese dance performed by the Indianapolis Chinese Performing Arts group. Throughout the event, guests can travel to tables representing the languages our international neighbors speak. At those tables, guests learn about that culture and language, and collect beads representing that country’s flag. Guests can then make a bracelet or keychain to take with them using the beads. Snacks from China, Germany, Japan and India will also be available to sample.
The Spanish Honor Society from Whiteland Community High School will be at the event with piñatas. Guests can learn about the history of piñatas and a children’s piñata song, and children attending will have a chance to try to break open a piñata.
We look forward to sharing our international neighbors’ languages and cultures with you. Spend your afternoon with storytime, crafts, snacks and entertainment for all ages. And if you cannot make it to our Celebrate Día event, JCPL offers a range of language services, from bilingual books to online language learning. Learn more about those resources and Celebrate Día here: PageAfterPage.org/dia. For more information about our Adult Learning Center, tutoring provided or becoming a volunteer tutor, visit: PageAfterPage.org/alc.
Monica McKeown is a children’s programmer at the Clark Pleasant Branch. JCPL staff members share in writing this twice-monthly column. Send comments to [email protected].
