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MTYT: Julian Is a Mermaid

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Julian Is a Mermaid is a wonderfully imaginative story of a young Afro-Latinx boy who realizes he loves mermaids so much that he decides to be one. It began one day after he and his abuela take the subway home from the pool. Julian sees three beautiful mermaids from his subway seat, and he is mesmerized by their dress, accoutrements and amazing fishtails. When Julian and Abuela arrive home, he daydreams about being a mermaid. The illustrations of his transformation beautifully depict his daydream. While Abuela leaves Julian alone for a moment to take her bath, Julian’s imagination allows him to transform into a mermaid using fern clippings and flowers taken from Abuela’s vase to make a headdress and Abuela’s long white drapes for his mermaid tail. Before Abuela returns from her bath, he looks in the mirror and continues his transformation with her make-up. When Abuela sees him, she is noticeably surprised but composed. In fact, she hands him a string of pearls to place around his neck and takes him to join the other mermaids in New York’s Annual Mermaid Parade.
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Re-Introducing 2018 WOW Recommends

By Holly Johnson, University of Cincinnati

Each year, members of the Worlds of Words community recommend monthly books for readers to consider through the WoW Recommends feature. The main criteria is that the book must have a publish date within the last two years. Taking a look back at the 2018 list, I was interested in finding out what had been recommended so that I might read these books and think about how they may or may not resonate with me. I was also curious about what themes were discussed so that I might share my own thoughts about these texts.
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Authors' Corner

Authors’ Corner: J.C. Cervantes on The Storm Runner

By Blaire Krakowitz, University of Arizona

Ancient Stories for a New Generation

J.C. Cervantes, New York Times author of The Storm RunnerIt has been said that no story is entirely original. All stories take ideas and inspiration from others and mold them into something new. Books connect stories from the past to experiences from the present, creating ties between the new and the old. Young Adult fiction embraces older stories and folklore, especially in recent years. Ancient mythologies have become a particularly popular source of inspiration, and for good reason. Myths explain how the world works. Comparisons between the ideas of cultures from the past to our current understanding of the world lend themselves to dynamic, creative exploration in fiction.

Rick Riordan’s young adult novels, including the ever-popular Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, bring modern twists on traditional mythologies into the YA mainstream. Riordan explores Greek, Egyptian and Norse myth works–only a few of the myriad of mythologies to grace world tradition. Riordan teamed up with Disney Hyperion to create the Rick Riordan Presents imprint to provide other authors with the opportunity to retell their own cultures’ myths. In the imprint’s first wave of rich stories emerges J.C. Cervantes’ engrossing, action-packed and ceaselessly charming take on Maya legends: The Storm Runner. Continue reading

WOW Recommends: Book of the Month

WOW Recommends: I Really Want to See You, Grandma

I Really Want to See You, Grandma coverJapanese author and illustrator, Taro Gomi, first published I Really Want to See You, Grandma in Japan in 1979. Finally, it has been published for the first time in English so preschool children can enjoy the simple story and the humorous illustrations. The beginning words and illustration set up the story: “Yumi’s house is on a hill. It has a pink roof. Grandma’s house is on a mountain. It has an orange roof.” Continue reading

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MTYT: Undocumented: A Worker’s Fight

By Kathleen Crawford-McKinney, Wayne State University and Deanna Day-Wiff, Washington State University

In the last installment of November’s MTYT, Kathleen Crawford-McKinney and Deanna Day-Wiff talk about the picturebook A Undocumented Worker’s Fight, written by Duncan Tonatiuh. November’s theme is Global Perspectives on the Refugee and Immigrant Experience. This book pays homage to Mexican pre-Columbian heritage by presenting the illustrations in the style of the ancient Mixtec codex, which means the story literally unfolds in an accordion format. It tells the story of a undocumented Mexican immigrant who has come to the United States for work.

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MTYT: Illegal

By Dr. Kathleen Crawford-McKinney, Wayne State University and Deanna Day-Wiff, Washington State University

In the forth installment of November’s MTYT, Dr. Kathleen Crawford-McKinney and Deanna Day-Wiff talk about the picturebook Illegal, written by Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin and illustrated by Giovanni Rigano. November’s theme is Global Perspectives on the Refugee and Immigrant Experience. This book portrays the struggle of a young boy who is searching for his brother and sister as he journeys from Africa to Europe.

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Winter Holiday Picture Books with Latinx Characters

By Janine M. Schall, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

So far this month we’ve had blog posts about Latinx children’s books that tell stories of immigration or non-conforming gender identities. For this week’s post, I’m turning to a more festive topic: winter holiday Latinx picture books.

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MTYT: Marwan’s Journey

By Dr. Kathleen Crawford-McKinney, Wayne State University and Deanna Day-Wiff, Washington State University.

In the third installment of November’s MTYT, Dr. Kathleen Crawford-McKinney and Deanna Day-Wiff talk about the picturebook Marwan’s Journey, written by Patricia de Arias and illustrated by Laura Borràs. November’s theme is Global Perspectives on the Refugee and Immigrant Experience. This book tells the story of a boy who was forced to leave his country and seek a life of freedom and safety.

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Gender Themed Latinx Children’s Literature

By Gilberto Peña Lara, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Gender is often presented as a binary where children have only two specific gender trajectories. As social norms, children are expected to conform to male or female ways of being. When children deviate from these social rules they are often met with harsh scolding, ridicule or even threats of harm. School is a place of socialization where children are socialized in many ways including rigid gendered identities. The classroom also offers important opportunities to break with sexist and homophobic attitudes and language. Just as we have a responsibility to stand up to racism or advocate for diversity, we also need to position gender identity as equally important and a basic human right. Continue reading

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MTYT: Dreamers

By Dr. Kathleen Crawford-McKinney, Wayne State University and Deanna Day-Wiff, Washington State University

In the second installment of November’s MTYT, Dr. Kathleen Crawford-McKinney and Deanna Day-Wiff talk about the picturebook Dreamers, written by Yuyi Morales. November’s theme is Global Perspectives on the Refugee and Immigrant Experience. This book depicts the real life struggle of a single mother who crossed the US border with her young son in order to seek out a better life.

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