PROGRAMS :  Youth   |   Parents   |   Community

Dia de Los Niños Dia de los Libros  top^
Children's Day/Book Day

Join us for the Annual Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros, San Francisco celebration on the last Sunday in April.

Community celebration honoring children, families, and reading. Free and open to the public, Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros, San Francisco offers interactive art activities and live multicultural music, dance, and storytelling. A book give-away providing each child with his or her own book.

About Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros   top^
Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros is celebrated in cities and towns across the country, and emphasizes the importance of advocating literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. San Francisco’s annual Día began in 1999, after the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution declaring April 30th as “El Día de los Niños—Celebrating Young Americans.” Since then, Día has grown dramatically, with close to 1,000 participants in San Francisco alone.

Hosts & Sponsors   top^
Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros is a collaboration of Childhood Matters/Nuestros Niños, Children’s Book Press Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, KQED Education Network; Mayor’s Office of Community Development; Mission Learning Center; Mission YMCA; San Francisco Public Library; San Francisco Recreation and Park Department; and San Francisco State University’s Jumpstart Program.

This year’s event is sponsored in part by Bibliotecas Para La Gente; Bill Graham Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund; California State Automobile Association; First 5 San Francisco, and KQED Education Network.

Feedback about past Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros:

"I come to this event every year. My family and I moved to
San Jose two years ago, but we come back every year,
because I really have fun doing the activities
and like seeing the children perform."
11-year-old Student


"There is no event like this in San Francisco, for us parents
it's perfect because we get to do art projects without
having to set up or clean up, plus we get all kinds of ideas
for projects we can do at home with recycled materials."
Cristina Bodasaw, Nurse and Mother


"This is the best way for us to spend a Sunday. We can use
the playground, watch children perform and then go from activity
to activity and you are giving away multilingual and multicultural
books! -The passports to literacy are a great idea!"
Estela Hassan, Social Worker and Mother


"I don't know how you are able to put together such a
huge event! We really enjoy and appreciate it. For us it is
important to celebrate our children and reinforce our cultural
ways, so being able to have them dance for other children,
helps them see that the community appreciates all of their
hardwork and dedication!"
Maria Sanchez, Aztec Dancer Grupo Xitlalli


"For me as a father, the thing I enjoy the most is the great
location, diverse activities and entertainment as well as a
great opportunity to spend time with other families
from the community".
Mateo Cordova, Community Leader and Father


"I liked the African Queens the best and doing all of the fun
activities. I liked playing with some of my friends from school".
Na'yani Thurman, 11-year-old Student