Decorative WOW Currents Banner
Decorative WOW Currents Banner

Immigration: Informative Texts that Satisfy

by Holly Johnson, The University of Cincinnati

vintage-luggage-652875_1280

When we came to America, though, we didn’t know what the right thing was. Here we lived with no map. We became invisible, the people who swam in between other people’s lives, bussing dishes, delivering groceries. What was wrong?

We didn’t know. The most important thing, Abba said, was not to stick out. Don’t let them see you. But I think it hurt him, to hide so much.

― Marina Budhos, Ask Me No Questions (2007)

What is the immigrant experience like? Are all immigrant stories similar? What motivates a person to immigrate to another country? Continue reading

Decorative WOW Currents Banner

Immigration: Narratives to Expand Our Cultural Homes

by Holly Johnson, The University of Cincinnati

wood-289005_1280

My new home is in a new country.
I know very little of the language and culture.
Memories of my old country will be in my heart forever
The love of my old country will always remain.
I leave for a better life and new opportunities
Hoping to make a bright future for me and my family.

–Arty Rico Jones

Moving from one country to another, and knowing it will become “home” can evoke any number of emotions. Continue reading

Decorative WOW Currents Banner

Immigration: In Pictures for Any Age Group

by Holly Johnson, The University of Cincinnati

TanExerpt

”Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere.”

–Jean Rhys

Books do make us immigrants! They take us to place in which we are unfamiliar, where we might be lost, but with a chance of being found and welcomed. This week, I wanted to share some picture books in which readers—regardless of age—can get lost, but from the journey we find a new understanding of the world, others, and ourselves. Continue reading

Decorative WOW Currents Banner

Immigration: Stories about All of Us

by Holly Johnson, The University of Cincinnati

Comingtoamerica

“The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources–because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples.”

Lyndon B. Johnson

My grandparents were immigrants. Like many Americans, I can trace my roots to other parts of the world. When I talked with my Norwegian grandmother about her experience of immigrating to the United States, it was one of adventure. Asked by her older brother to make the trans-Atlantic trip in 1920, she responded immediately, and gave her Oslo employer two weeks’ notice. She was 20 years old. Continue reading

Decorative WOW Currents Banner

Like Oil and Water: Unlikely Friendships

by Gail Pritchard, PhD, The University of Arizona

Friendship

 

“Things are never quite as scary when you’ve got a best friend” (Bill Watterson).

If you Google “unlikely friendships,” you will find books, YouTube videos, and images of unusual animal friendships. These tend to be animals from different species and even those that would be considered natural enemies, like a bonded cat and bird. But what do we mean when we refer to people with unlikely friendships? Continue reading

Decorative WOW Currents Banner

The Natural World in our Backyard: Authors of Nonfiction Science at the Tucson Festival of Books

By Tracy Smiles, Western Oregon University

ScienceTFOBEquipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science.

Edwin Powell Hubble

There is little question as to the extraordinary ways non-fiction literature for children has developed both with regard to quality and availability. Continue reading

Decorative WOW Currents Banner

The Soviet Connection: Cultural Influences in Our Text and Images

by Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University, Denton

Soviet UnionAt the 2015 Tucson Festival of Books, I attended a thought-provoking interview with illustrator Bagram Ibatoulline and author-illustrator Eugene Yelchin. The moderator asked them questions about how their experiences as Russian-born artists had influenced their work. Continue reading

Decorative WOW Currents Banner

The Decision to Resist: Enough is Enough

by Janelle Mathis, University of North Texas, Denton, TX

EnoughisEnoughWith a powerful title framing their session, four authors spoke to the theme of resistance and to the notion of “enough is enough” as they connected a recent work to contemporary social issues. The panel included Larry Brimmer (Strike, 2014), Margy Burns Knight (Talking Walls: Discover the World, 2014), S. D. Nelson (Digging a Hole to Heaven, 2014), and Eugene Yelchin (Arcady’s Goal, 2014) Continue reading

Decorative WOW Currents Banner

Celebrating the Story of Stories

By Kathy Short, The University of Arizona

PatersonThe blogs for this month highlight our reflections on authors’ discussions of global and multicultural issues in children’s and young adult literature. These authors appeared on panels at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 14-15, 2015. We each selected a particular panel to share the dialogue that emerged between authors around an issue, such as resistance, cultural influences, and scientific writing. This first column is a brief description of the festival and the opening keynote by Katherine Paterson. Continue reading