Over the summer, a group of young readers met in Worlds of Words for a focus group to better understand their needs as readers. They expressed a desire for more social connection. This connection certainly happens between peers in the program, and it also is a function of a wider community who connects in digital spaces like their Instagram or podcast feeds.
A Middle School Reading Ambassador shares her sketch with author and illustrator, Jose Pimienta, at a cartooning workshop run by the artist. Pimienta flew to Tucson for the workshop and provided special edition books to participants who bravely shared their work.
As I looked into Palestinian experiences in children’s literature, I discovered many significant examples. These examples speak to broader issues of displacement, refugees and oppression. These topics/issues are prevalent in the global sociopolitical atmosphere presently, more so now with the two ongoing wars: Ukraine/Russia and Palestine/Israel. If we research and go into depth on both these conflicts and wars, we come away with multiple ways of understanding the conflicts and realize that there is no one easy explanation that pigeonholes the conflicts.
