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Bilingual storytimes encourage Latino parents to read with their children

Diamonti visits playgroups once a month

Diamonti, senior information services specialist at Grissom Library, travels to St. George’s Episcopal Church and the First Baptist Church in Newport News to share songs, flannel story boards, and quality children’s literature with Latino playgroups.

Donna Diamonti, senior information services specialist at Grissom Library, right, and parent-volunteer Sandra Quinones read "Where's Spot?" in English and Spanish to the group during bilingual storytime on March 25 at St. George's Episcopal Church.

Once a month, Donna Diamonti of the Newport News Public Library System, goes to church.

Diamonti, senior information services specialist at Grissom Library, travels to St. George’s Episcopal Church and the First Baptist Church in Newport News to share songs, flannel story boards, and quality children’s literature with Latino playgroups.

Diamonti has been presenting this bilingual storytime to the St. George’s Hispanic Circle of Parents for four years. The popularity of the program prompted another bilingual storytime to begin at the First Baptist Church in 2009.

This interactive storytime allows children ages birth to 5 years old to listen to stories, sing, and dance, while it gives parents the opportunity to volunteer to read stories in Spanish as Diamonti reads them in English. The storytimes are a way to introduce English to the Latino families through quality children’s literature. The storytimes also encourage a love of books and reading, and they introduce them to the Library and all it has to offer.

These programs are sponsored by the Healthy Family Partnership, New Parent Support at Fort Eustis, and Family Focus of Newport News. 

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