WOW Dozen: A Dozen Ukrainian Books

By Kathy G. Short, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ and Kathleen Crawford-McKinney, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI

Although we are constantly bombarded with images of the war in Ukraine, many people know little about this country, its culture, or its long history of conflict with Russia/Soviet Union. This set of books reflects a range of perspectives on Ukrainian culture and history, many authored and illustrated by Ukrainians or people with Ukrainian heritage. The stories involve significant historical events, such as Stalin’s mass starvation of Ukrainian people in 1932, the Nazi occupation in 1941-1943, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, and the 2022 siege of Mariupol by Russian forces. Pairing these books with recent news articles connects this history to current events. The strength of Ukrainian people, especially the Jewish population, in the midst of suffering is thus a frequent theme, but the set does include several humorous folktales. Continue reading

WOW Recommends: Book of the Month

WOW Recommends: The Mystery of the Monarchs

Characters of all ages observe monarch butterflies in an open greenspaceThe Mystery of the Monarchs: How Kids, Teachers, and Butterfly Fans Helped Fred and Norah Urquhart Track the Great Monarch Migration by Barb Rosenstock and Erika Meza (illustrator) is a fascinating and absorbing account of how the mystery of where millions of monarch butterflies migrate over the winter was solved by Fred Urquhart, a Canadian professor of zoology and hundreds of citizens from three different countries. Fred, who lived in Toronto was a “bug man,” from the time he was eight. One of the bugs that fascinated him was the monarch butterfly. He knew a lot about the monarchs including that “during the fall, the monarchs disappeared.” Fred even wrote to a famous professor. “He asked: ‘Where do the monarchs go? He got a surprise answer: No one knew…. It was a mystery that Fred wanted to solve….” For ten years as he worked as a scientist he tried different methods of tagging the butterflies, but never heard back from anyone who found the tagged insects. Continue reading

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In Praise of a Good Book

By Holly Johnson, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

A large wolf in a forest walking towards the viewer. In the foreground is the silhouette of a young boy.There are many great books for young people available, and summertime is a great time to take advantage of the books we might have set aside hoping to get to them. Within the numerous books we might read, every now and then there is one that not only brings us pleasure but can have us thinking deeply about the state of the cosmos. Wolfstongue (2021) by Sam Thompson is one such book. I want to take nothing away from any number of books that might also have readers thinking philosophically about the world, but this book awed me in its thoughtfulness and its cosmopolitan way of envisioning the relationship between humans and nonhuman animals, and the role language plays in our often-hierarchical stance toward other species and the power differential displayed within those relationships. In the following paragraphs, I want to share some of the instances that had me contemplating and appreciating the marvels of this book. Continue reading

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Exploring Schools and Schooling Around the World

By Janine Schall, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX

Large waves fling a small boy and his boat into the airEducation is a universal right, but what children are asked to learn and the ways in which they engage in learning is very different around the world. Many children spend a significant portion of their lives in schools so it makes sense that they would be curious about how schools work and how children in different places experience school. This inquiry topic has natural interdisciplinary connections and can be a great way to begin and end the school year.

In this issue of WOW Currents, I share a text set of global and multicultural children’s picturebooks related to the school experience around the world, organized into four themes.

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WOW Dozen: Environmental Picturebooks

by Susan Corapi, Trinity International University, Deerfield, IL and Annette Y. Goldsmith, Kent State University, Kent, OH

As storms become more frequent and violent, attention to the environment and global warming is increasing. Each title here has a distinct call to action that invites readers of all ages to “rethink, refuse, reduce, repair, reuse, recycle, and revolutionize” (Pêgo, 118-121). Some are biographies of everyday citizens who stood up for protecting our natural resources, others are examples of ingenuity, and several describe the ways animal and marine life can recover when given the space and time to adapt or regain habitats. What follows is a selection from an in-process paper about environmentally-focused books, fiction and nonfiction, discussed through the double lens of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Diverse BookFinder BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) descriptors. We included the original place of publication because we want to explore what other countries are saying about environmental issues. Continue reading

WOW Recommends: Book of the Month

WOW Recommends: A Land of Books: Dreams of Young Mexican Word Painters

A group of Mexhicah people making a book against the backdrop of a pyramid and snowcapped mountains.In his new book, A Land of Books: Dreams of Young Mexican Word Painters, Duncan Tonatiuh weaves verbal and visual narratives together to create an historic account of how the “Mexhicah who dwell in the valley of the volcanoes, make books….”

Long ago, before woodblock printing, moveable typeset and the printing press, the Mexhicah made books by painting images onto long strips of amatl, or paper, made from the bark of the amacuahuitl tree. The long strips of paper were folded accordion style and then bound by covers made from wood that were decorated with hides, feathers and jewels. The reader of the amoxtli (book) would unfold the pages so that it could be read. When the reader had finished, the amoxtli was folded and stored in the amoxcalli, the house of books. The tlahcuilohqueh, the painters of words, mixed plants and insects with clay, ash and water to create the paints they used to record the stories of the past and the present, and from which future generations would read to learn about the lived experiences of the Mexhicah.

Fortunately for readers of Duncan Tonatiuh’s newest amoxtli, the future is upon us. In Tonatiuh’s picturebook, he tells a story of Mexhicah book making from the perspective of the daughter of a tlahcuilohqueh. The young girl explains to her brother how their parents make the amoxtin. She tells him why the amoxtin are made and about the contents painted on the pages. She tells her brother that the tlahcuilohqueh need to know “a great deal” about many subjects including “religion, astronomy, warfare and history” for this is the content that fills the pages of the amoxtin.

As the story progresses, readers join the sister and brother at the flower festival where performers sing the stories printed on the amoxtin. There are no letters on the pages, only drawings that certain people like noblemen, priests and wise elders know how to read. For this reason, the amoxtin are read or sung aloud at special occasions, like the flower festival, so that all the villagers can hear the stories and see the paintings.

Readers familiar with Tonatiuh’s own amoxtin know that he draws artistic inspiration from the iconography of the Mixtec codices written centuries ago. As such, Tonatiuh’s distinctive illustrations in The Land of Books seem to authenticate the research-based narrative of the book making process featured in the text. Readers will find much of Tonatiuh’s research in the Author’s Note at the end of the text. A Glossary, Bibliography and list of websites complete the resources that readers can access to learn more about the Mexihcah and their book making process.

Tonatiuh’s picturebook serves as a history lesson about the Mexhicah culture that is not often told in schools today. History lessons sometimes imply that book making began with Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press when, in fact, books were being printed in China, Korea and Mexico long before Gutenberg began printing his texts in Europe. Fortunately, Tonatiuh’s newest picturebook provides a more accurate account of the evolution of book making which adds another layer of truth about the history of books and book making on a global scale. -Recommended by Mary L. Fahrenbruck, Associate Professor, New Mexico State University

Author/Illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh
ISBN: 9781419749421
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
PubDate: November 15, 2022

Each month a committee of Worlds of Words advisors recommends a book published within the last year. Our hope is to spark conversations on our website and on social media about the book that expand global understandings and perceptions. Please join us by leaving a comment. You can also share your thoughts with us by using the hashtag #WOWRecommends on social media. Check out our alphabetical listing of all the books featured in WOW Recommends.

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Photography as a Tool for Social Change: Biographical Picturebooks

By Celeste Trimble, St. Martin’s University, Lacey, WA

Photography is part of the everyday world. Children (and adults, of course) are constant consumers of this medium in personal, social, political, economic and artistic realms. Indeed, practically every aspect of our lives is saturated by the photographic image. Not only are we consumers of photography, most of us are also producers of digital photographs. What began as an art form limited to scientists with specialized chemicals and equipment is now as quotidian as breakfast.

Blonde girl against blue background picks a red flowerLike many artistic practices, photography is often used as a form of activism. The photographic image can help bring hidden or shadowed issues and realities into the public eye, illuminating the world as a way to create change. An excellent way to unlock photographic history and activism for children in accessible and engaging ways is through biographical picturebooks of notable photographers. These stories provide context for how photography became so ubiquitous and essential around the globe, as well as how it has and can be used as a tool for social change, perhaps inspiring young readers to do the same. Although there are a number of excellent examples, for this post I will look closely at picturebook biographies of three artists who used the photographic medium for expression and activism: Anna Atkins of England, Jacob Riis of Denmark and the United States, and Gordon Parks of the United States. Continue reading

WOW Recommends: Book of the Month

WOW Recommends: The Moon from Dehradun

Boy sits on the lap of a girl who shares her doll while a train full of people passes in the evening backgroundThe story in The Moon from Dehradun is based on the history of the 1947 partition that created the individual countries of India and Pakistan. Prior to the partition the region had been a colony of Britain from 1858 to 1947. At the end of their rule the British divided the country according to the majority religions. Muslims must live in Pakistan and Hindus in India. Continue reading

WOW Dozen: Books That Should Have Won Awards

Compiled by the Worlds of Words Center Board

November, December and January are every bookworm’s favorite months because many book awards are announced. The National Council of English broadcasts the Orbis Pictus and Charlotte Huck awards before Thanksgiving. In December, the National Book Awards are celebrated and then in the first month of the year, the American Library Association announces the children’s and young adult award winning books for numerous awards such as the Pura Belpré Award, Schneider Family Book Award and the Mildred L. Batchelder Award. At a recent Worlds of Words Center gathering, we discussed the many titles that were acknowledged, but were disappointed that some of our favorite 2022 books didn’t receive greater recognition. This month’s WOW Dozen shares the books that we think should have done better this awards season. What book titles do you think should have won a major award? Please share in the comments section. Continue reading

Authors' Corner

Authors’ Corner: Judy I. Lin

By Rebecca Ballenger, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Photo by Aaron Perkins.

Judy I. Lin’s Duology of Tea is steeped in the terrain of the Taiwanese mountains, known for oolong teas. Lin, who was born in Taiwan and now lives in Canada, wanted to explore tea ceremonies around the world for a story brewing in her imagination. In that process, she came right back to the type of tea ceremony that she grew up with. Imagining the tea ceremony has magical properties for the sake of a young adult novel posed challenges.

“It’s not like blasting a fireball from your hands or any type of elemental magic where you can just directly influence the world around you, because it’s a quieter sort of magic. You have to be the one drinking it, or you have to make the other person drink it, or you have to have the ingredients available to you,” says Lin. You also must have all the specialized tools. That thought process inspired the magical competition that brings the protagonist, Ning, to the palace in A Magic Steeped In Poison, book one of the Duology of Tea. The result is an immersive young adult fantasy that transports readers to another time and place and reinforces the importance of relationships and trust in our lives. Continue reading