Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1497353
Children's Day and Book Day APRIL 30 El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day), 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. Among Día's goals are to recognize and respect culture, heritage and language as powerful tools for strengthening families and communities. CTA's California Reads program also focuses on this as well as fostering a love of reading among young people. Educators can choose from teacher-vetted books for all grade levels to read to students or have students read. Below are a few of the 2023 rec- ommended books; find the full list and past years' selections at cta.org/careads. In The Silence That Binds Us (by Joanna Ho; grades 9-12), May Chen is not the Chinese Taiwanese American daughter her mother expects her to be — May prefers hoodies over dresses and wants to become a writer. When May 's brother Danny, newly admitted to Princeton and secretly struggling with depression, dies by suicide, racist accusations are hurled against May 's parents for putting too much "pressure" on him. May challenges these stereotypes through her writing, but there are consequences to speaking out: Who gets to tell our stories? Who gets silenced? May must take back the nar- rative. Silence touches on mental health, racism and classism. William Hoy was a skilled professional baseball player in the late 1800s-early 1900s. The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game (by Nancy Churnin and illustrated by Jez Tuya; grades 3-5) tells how he faced prejudice because of being deaf and could not hear the umpires' calls. One day he asked the umpire to use hand signals: strike, ball, out. That day he not only got on base but also changed the way the game was played forever. Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story (by Kevin Noble Mail- lard and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal; grades Pre-K/TK/K) is told in lively and powerful verse and is an evocative depiction of a modern Native American family. The books takes a staple food of many tribes across the country and uses it to think about family, history, memory and community. Fry bread recipe included! 10 cta.org In the Know N E W S & N O T E S