Contact Rebecca Ballenger, Worlds of Words Associate Director
This month, we launch our third season of WOW Reads, a podcast that centers the voices of middle school and teen readers around literature for young people. The podcast features Reading Ambassadors discussing their experience reading and responding to books, planning and moderating an author event and the lessons they learned along the way.
Donors to our crowdfund campaign with gifts above $1000 can be acknowledged “on air” in an upcoming episode of WOW Reads. Visit crowdfund.arizona.edu/wow for more information.
This podcast is not just a space for book chat; it’s a platform for Reading Ambassadors to develop career skills and showcase their talents. Through your support, we can continue to offer this unique opportunity for readers to take their engagement with books to the next level, growing as leaders, creators and communicators in the process.
Regular Episodes and Special Features
Our podcast includes regular episodes that dive deep into the books we read, offering thoughtful commentary and discussions on how these stories resonate with their own lives. In addition to regular episodes, we also produce bonus episodes around special partnerships such as Tucson Reads and deep-dive experiences with literature including attending seminars with Regents Professor Kathy Short around outstanding international books and a mock-Caldecott vote. These special episodes give the Reading Ambassadors more opportunities to engage with the broader literary world and to share their unique perspectives with a growing audience.
Catch WOW Reads on your favorite podcasting platform, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
What Makes This Podcast Special
This podcast is driven by the program participants. From the topics covered to the questions asked, every episode is planned and presented by Reading Ambassadors, who take the lead in creating a dynamic, thoughtful and engaging show for their peers — and for anyone passionate about young adult and middle-grade literature.
But they don’t do it alone! Our podcast is a collaboration between Reading Ambassadors and a skilled team of supporters. This year that includes Kait Waterhouse, a COE graduate student assistant who plays a key role in mentoring Reading Ambassadors in literary analysis along with community volunteer and retired teacher and 2024 crowdfund campaign donor, Katherine Connover. Our sound engineer is a student employee from the center, Liam Arias, who studies Film and Television. We partner with the Digital Innovation and Learning Lab (DIALL) in the College of Education with training and support from the COE Tech Team. Behind the scenes, another center student employee, Vianey Torres, keeps us organized. Reading Ambassadors have a strong team looking out for their success.
Your Support In Action
You can be part of this support team. By donating to our campaign, you help ensure that we can continue offering these kinds of enriching, skill-building opportunities to our Reading Ambassadors. Remember, with gifts of $1000 or more, the Reading Ambassadors will recognize donors “on air!”
Through initiatives like the WOW Reads podcast, we are able to amplify the voices of youth around literature written for them — not only as readers and thinkers but as creators and leaders in their own right. We invite you to tune in to the podcast and hear for yourself the incredible work our Reading Ambassadors are doing. Their passion for literature and learning shines through in every episode, and we know you’ll be as inspired by them as we are.
Thank you for believing in the power of young voices.
* For a deep dive into the history of the Worlds of Words Reading Ambassador program, visit the Fall 2023 issue of WOW Stories.
WOW Currents is a space to talk about forward-thinking trends in global children’s and adolescent literature and how we use that literature with students. “Currents” is a play on words for trends and timeliness and the way we talk about social media. We encourage you to participate by leaving comments and sharing this post with your peers. To view our complete offerings of WOW Currents, please visit its archival stream.