Black, White and Gray Pop in New Worlds of Words Center Exhibit

Contact Rebecca Ballenger, Associate Director, Worlds of Words Center

When the average person thinks about picturebooks, black and white illustrations seldom come to mind. But they do exist. “Black White Grey,” a traveling exhibit from the International Youth Library (IYL) in Munich, Germany is on view for the first time in the U.S. in the Worlds of Words Center in the University of Arizona College of Education. The exhibit shows how illustrators use the expressive power of lines, shapes, contours and contrasts to create captivating pictures with a unique aesthetic and atmospheric mood.

A young boy holds a hanging sign from the Black White Grey Exhibit that depicts a tiger with a sloth in its mouth.

Oliver (age 6) inspects a hanging medallion that depicts a detail from an illustration in Tierenduin by Dutch author and illustrator, Geert Vervaeke, as part of the ‘Black White Grey’ exhibit on loan from the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany and on display in the Worlds of Words Center.

“Using only black, white and gray in illustrations can be surprisingly evocative, stripping away the distraction of color to reveal a depth and nuance that resonates on a profoundly emotional level. These monochromatic palettes invite readers to engage with the essence of the story in a raw and powerful way, proving that sometimes the simplest choices can yield the most profound impact,” says Kathy Short, director of Worlds of Words and Regents Professor. Continue reading →

The Colourful World Beyond the Seven Hills

By Rebecca Ballenger, Associate Director, Worlds of Words Center

The Grimm Brothers’ collection “Children’s and Household Tales” inspired visual images in illustrations that left their indelible mark on the memory of successive generations. For the first time in the U.S., the traveling exhibition “The Colourful World Beyond the Seven Hills” invites people to experience or re-experience this tradition of folktale illustration from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Posters of illustrations from the book collections of the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany, are now available for viewing in the Worlds of Words Center of Global Literacies and Literatures of the UArizona College of Education.

Three young people look at a set of cards marked character, setting, plot and resolution one young person in background looking at illustrations

Middle School Reading Ambassadors work through a mixed-up Grimm Brother’s storytelling activity that Worlds of Words offers alongside the The Colourful World Beyond the Seven Hills exhibit on loan from the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany.

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Children Draw Themselves: Self-portraits from All Over the World In Times of Covid

As COVID-19 began its spread around the world, the International Youth Library (IYL) in Munich, Germany, invited children to portray themselves during this unusual time. The response was overwhelming. Over 800 self-portraits from 42 countries and every continent arrived at the IYL. Children aged 3 to 18 depict themselves grey and frightened or colorful and lively, sometimes with a face mask and sometimes without–mostly with big, alert eyes. A curated portion of these self-portraits make up the exhibit Children Draw Themselves: Self-Portraits from All Over the World In Times of Covid, now on display in Worlds of Words: Center of Global Literacies and Literatures (WOW) in the UArizona College of Education.

studio hung with children's self portraits during covid-19 quarantine and books on tables

The exhibit displayed in WOW, with portraits hanging on the wall and books on the tables.

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Travel Around the World in 70 Maps with New Exhibit

The exhibit, Around the World in 70 Maps: Three Centuries of Cartographic Treasures from Children’s Literature, has itself traveled around the world. However, Worlds of Words Center of Global Literacies and Literatures (WOW) in the University of Arizona College of Education is the first venue in the U.S. to show this imaginative collection from the International Youth Library (IYL) in Munich, Germany.

Young teens reading and discussing the books and posters on display.

Students from Paulo Freire Freedom School explore the exhibit, Around the World in 70 Maps.

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Hello, Dear Enemy! comes to University of Arizona College of Education

By Rebecca Ballenger, Coordinator of Outreach and Collections, Worlds of Words

The news is bleak. Even in homes where comfort and security are the rule, the media confronts children and adults with images of war, animosity and displacement. Some are directly affected while others have many questions, and all seek answers. The traveling exhibit, Hello, Dear Enemy!, does not provide answers, but it does provide a path to conversation. Worlds of Words in the University of Arizona College of Education is the first stop for this powerful collection from the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany.

Hello, Dear Enemy! is a traveling exhibit created by the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany and makes its first stop at Worlds of Words in the University of Arizona College of Education. WOW invites the community to come tour the exhibit, which is free and open to the public. Photo by Jen Ryder.

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