Our field lost a scholar of children’s literature, and we lost a treasured friend and colleague when Vivian Yenika-Agbaw passed away on September 20, 2021. Vivian was a professor of children’s and adolescent literature at Penn State University where she taught in both the residential and World campus programs. She grew up in Cameroon and remained connected both professionally and personally to these roots as she gathered supplies and resources for teachers in that country and wrote about West African and African Diaspora literature for young people through the critical lens of postcolonialism. She was concerned about issues of power and colonialism, not only in books from and about countries in Africa, but in other regions around the world whose literatures are seldom the focus of scholarship. Her research on representations of Africa in children’s books provided both historical and current critical analyses of trends and issues. Continue reading
Kathy Short
Digging Deeper into Migration Stories through MultiModal Text Sets
By Carol Brochin, Leah Durán, and Kathy G. Short, University of Arizona
This past summer, faculty in the College of Education at the University of Arizona virtually hosted a seminar for K-12 teachers sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Drawing teachers from across the U.S., we looked at the histories and movements of people in what is now Arizona and considered ways to invite students of all ages into our inquiries. Our institute, We the People: Migrant Waves in the Making of America, challenged the perception that migration is a recent negative phenomenon. This two-week virtual institute explored the continuous waves of migration in the U.S. through a case study of Arizona, the last continental state added to the union. We were particularly concerned with the stories often left out of traditional narratives of U.S. history, which are traditionally rooted in the thirteen colonies and so erase the experiences of Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other communities of color. Through interactions with narratives, authors, scholars and museums, our goal was for educators to gain knowledge and strategies to support their teaching by using inquiry strategies from the case study to research migrant waves in their own states.
2021 Global Literature Trends: Books about Activism and Conservation
by Kathy G. Short, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
In a time of political division and global uncertainty, despair can be offset by hope through taking action to make a change; a perspective found in global books on activism and conservation. Instead of ignoring global issues or waiting for adults to take action, these books portray the commitment and actions of young people who act to make a difference. These themes go across nonfiction and fiction as well as across ages, providing young people with examples of real people who work for change and with story worlds in which characters act for a cause that matters to them. Continue reading
2021 Global Literature: Refugee and Immigrant Experiences in Children’s and YA Literature
by Kathy G. Short, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
The experiences of refugees dominate the national news, most recently images of Central American asylum seekers at the Mexico/U.S. border and refugees from Afghanistan trying to board planes and attempting border crossings into Pakistan. These experiences also dominate children’s and young adult books, especially in the last ten years with many books about Syrian refugees and refugees from Mexico and Central America. The experiences of immigrant families and children are also increasingly depicted in literature, but instead of focusing on trauma, these books focus on children who navigate multiple cultural identities and locations. Continue reading
2021 Trends in Global Literature for Children and Adolescents
By Kathy G. Short, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
This month, WOW Currents highlights the trends in global books published in the U.S. between Summer 2020 and 2021. The list was created by exploring new books and reading reviews to create an update of the K-12 global reading lists, fiction and nonfiction, to post on the Worlds of Words Center website. This update also provides an opportunity to identify trends and patterns across this annual collection of global books. This post overviews these trends and the weekly blogs over the month of September will examine one trend in more depth with examples of books. Continue reading
Imagination Friday with Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal
Meet Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal to hear about their award-winning picturebook, Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story. Kevin and Juana will share the process of writing and illustrating their picturebook, invite children to create their own family stories and answer questions.
Imagination Fridays participants can order signed copies of the books featured at https://shop.uabookstore.arizona.edu/main/wildcats/TFOB/Children.
Host: Kathy Short, Professor of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies and Director of WOW
Panelists: Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal
Co-Sponsor: Tucson Festival of Books
Kevin Noble Maillard is the author of Fry Bread and a regular writer and former contributing editor to The New York Times. Currently based in Manhattan, he splits time between the city and upstate New York, where he is a tenured professor of law at Syracuse University. Originally from Oklahoma, he is an enrolled citizen of the Seminole Nation.
Juana Martinez-Neal is an illustrator of books for children, including the award-winning La Princesa and the Pea, Alma and How She Got Her Name and Fry Bread. Juana was born in Lima, Peru, where she grew up surrounded by amazing meals prepared by her mom and amazing paintings made by her dad and granddad. She now lives, eats and paints in Scottsdale, surrounded by her amazing children.
Imagination Friday is co-sponsored by the Tucson Festival of Books and Worlds of Words, University of Arizona College of Education and occurs Fridays from 1 to 1:40 p.m. through December 2020 with a different author or illustrator each week. Add some excitement to Fridays with world-renowned children’s authors and illustrator to promote new books and encourage children as readers, writers and illustrators.
Imagination Friday with Molly Idle and Beth Ferry
Join Molly Idle and Beth Ferry to hear about their new picturebook, We Believe In You. Animals inspire their little ones to chase their dreams and reach for the stars. This stunning picturebook is about the joy of believing in yourself and in one another! Molly and Beth share the process of writing and illustrating their new book, invite children to create their own stories and answer questions.
Imagination Fridays participants can order signed copies of the books featured at https://shop.uabookstore.arizona.edu/main/wildcats/TFOB/Children.
Host: Kathy Short, Professor of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies and Director of WOW.
Panelists: Molly Idle and Beth Ferry
Co-Sponsor: Tucson Festival of Books
Beth Ferry is the New York Times bestselling author of Stick and Stone, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, The Scarecrow illustrated by The Fan Brothers, and many other books. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, three children and two bulldogs.
Molly Idle is the author and illustrator of the Caldecott Honor Book Flora and the Flamingo and the Flora series, the Rex series and Pearl. Molly lives in sunny Arizona with her marvelous, multi-generational family which includes her brilliant husband, two mercurial sons, two remarkable parents and a pair of snugly cats.
Imagination Friday is co-sponsored by the Tucson Festival of Books and Worlds of Words, University of Arizona College of Education and occurs Fridays from 1 to 1:40 p.m. through December 2020 with a different author or illustrator each week. Add some excitement to Fridays with world-renowned children’s authors and illustrator to promote new books and encourage children as readers, writers and illustrators.
Imagination Friday with Max Brallier
Meet Max Brallier, author of the Last Kids on Earth series. Max will share the highly anticipated sixth book in this bestselling series, The Last Kids on Earth and the Skeleton Road. In their latest adventure, Jack, June, Quint and Dirk go on a road trip to search for the villain Thrull and his skeleton army. The Last Kids on Earth is now available as a Netflix series. This webinar will include an activity and Q&A.
Imagination Fridays participants can order signed copies of the books featured at https://shop.uabookstore.arizona.edu/main/wildcats/TFOB/Children.
Host: Kathy Short, Professor of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies and Director of WOW
Panelists: Max Brallier
Co-Sponsor: Tucson Festival of Books
Max Brallier is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. His books and series include The Last Kids on Earth, Eerie Elementary, Mister Shivers, Galactic Hot Dogs, and Can YOU Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? He is a writer and producer for Netflix’s Emmy-award-winning adaptation of The Last Kids on Earth. Max lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. Visit him at MaxBrallier.com.
Imagination Friday is co-sponsored by the Tucson Festival of Books and Worlds of Words, University of Arizona College of Education and occurs Fridays from 1 to 1:40 p.m. through December 2020 with a different author or illustrator each week. Add some excitement to Fridays with world-renowned children’s authors and illustrator to promote new books and encourage children as readers, writers and illustrators.
Imagination Friday with Gordon C. James
Meet illustrator Gordon C. James, and hear about his new book, I Am Every Good Thing, written by Derrick Barnes. This book challenges the negative images and feelings that surround Black boys by saying they are “worthy of success, respect, safety, kindness, happiness—they are every good thing.”
Watch the recording right here! Gordon shares his new book and his process of illustrating the book, invites children to create their own illustrations and answer questions.
Imagination Fridays participants can order signed copies of the books featured at https://shop.uabookstore.arizona.edu/main/wildcats/TFOB/Children.
Host: Kathy Short, Professor of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies and Director of WOW.
Panelists: Gordon C. James
Co-Sponsor: Tucson Festival of Books
Gordon C. James illustrated the critically acclaimed picture book Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut (by Derrick Barnes), which received a Caldecott Honor, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, an Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Honor, the 2018 Kirkus Prize for Young Readers, and a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal. He also illustrated Let ‘Er Buck!: George Fletcher the People’s Champion (by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson). He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife and two children.
Imagination Friday is co-sponsored by the Tucson Festival of Books and Worlds of Words, University of Arizona College of Education and occurs Fridays from 1 to 1:40 p.m. through December 2020 with a different author or illustrator each week. Add some excitement to Fridays with world-renowned children’s authors and illustrator to promote new books and encourage children as readers, writers and illustrators.
Imagination Friday with Andy Griffiths
Join us to laugh along with international superstar, Andy Griffiths, all the way from Australia. Andy is the bestselling author of the Treehouse chapter book series and will tell about his newest book, The Treehouse Joke Book, and his upcoming 10th book in the series, The 130-Story Treehouse. The Treehouse Joke Book is chock-full of gags, quips, puns and cartoons. The Treehouse books by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton are chapter books filled with black-and-white drawings and packed with jokes, nonstop action and exuberant storytelling. Hang out in their 130-Story Treehouse, that has a soap bubble blaster, a time-wasting level, the GRABINATOR (can grab anything from anywhere at any time), a toilet paper factory and an extraterrestrial observation center. This webinar will include time for a Q&A and an activity.
Imagination Fridays participants can order signed copies of the books featured at https://shop.uabookstore.arizona.edu/main/wildcats/TFOB/Children.
Host: Kathy Short, Professor of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies and Director of WOW
Panelists: Andy Griffiths
Co-Sponsor: Tucson Festival of Books
Andy Griffiths is the best-selling author of the Treehouse series, Killer Koalas from Outer Space, The Big Fat Cow That Goes Kapow and The Cat on the Mat is Flat. Andy lives in Melbourne, Australia and works with cartoonist Terry Denton. Andy and Terry’s books have sold over 10 million copies in Australia and won many awards, including Book of the Year. The Treehouse series has been embraced by children around the world and is now published in more than 35 countries. Five of the books have been adapted for the stage in the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S.
Imagination Friday is co-sponsored by the Tucson Festival of Books and Worlds of Words, University of Arizona College of Education and occurs Fridays from 1 to 1:40 p.m. through December 2020 with a different author or illustrator each week. Add some excitement to Fridays with world-renowned children’s authors and illustrator to promote new books and encourage children as readers, writers and illustrators.