by Rebecca Ballenger, Associate Director of Worlds of Words Center
Mary J. Wong, renowned collector of art and signed, first-edition children’s picturebooks, donated sixteen original picturebook illustrations to the Worlds of Words (WOW) Center of Global Literacies and Literatures in the UArizona College of Education. The donation includes works from some of the most notable children’s picturebooks published in recent years – including art by illustrators attending the Tucson Festival of Books.

WOW Center staff member, Aika Adamson, sets up display of Juana Martinez-Neal illustrations that are part of a new donation from Mary J. Wong.
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By Rebecca Ballenger, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Brutal honesty connects award winning illustrators Juana Martinez-Neal and Molly Idle. An exhibit of original illustrations and picturebooks put this partnership front and center at Worlds of Words. The pandemic brought Critique to Support and Stretch: A Conversation between Juana Martinez-Neal and Molly Idle to an early close–but not before we filmed a virtual tour. Take a look!
Virtual Tour of Worlds of Words Center’s Critique to Support & Stretch Exhibit from UArizona College of Education.
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***POSTPONED***
WOW has suspended all events to be held in the center for the time being. Please email wow@email.arizona.edu with questions.
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Join Worlds of Words for a reception for our current exhibit with special guests, award-winning illustrators, Juana Martinez-Neal and Molly Idle!
Enjoy refreshments, great conversations, time to browse “Critique to Support & Stretch: A Conversation between Juana Martinez-Neal & Molly Idle,” and experiences around art critique and the elements of art.
Guests will want to pay careful attention to Flora and the Flamingo, a visual narrative Idle illustrated, and Alma and How She Got Her Name, which Martinez-Neal wrote and illustrated. These books earned Caldecott honors and viewing the work up close with comments from the creators is a special experience. The exhibit also includes a recently acquired piece by Martinez-Neal from Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, which was written by Kevin Noble Maillard and earned the 2020 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award and an American Indian Youth Literature Honor by the American Library Association.
Read our press release for more information about this exhibit.
The University of Arizona BookStores will offer books for sale and autographing during this event. The workshop includes a professional development certificate for teachers.
RSVP to wow@email.arizona.edu preferred, but not required.
This event is free and open to the public. Event details may change.
To request disability-related accommodations that would ensure your full participation in this event, please email wow@email.arizona.edu or call 520.621.9340.
Paid parking is available at the Second Street Garage next door to the College of Education. WOW is located just off the 2nd St. streetcar stop.
By Rebecca Ballenger, Associate Director, Worlds of Words
Brutal honesty connects award winning illustrators Juana Martinez-Neal and Molly Idle. A new exhibit of original illustrations and picturebooks puts this partnership front and center at the Worlds of Words: Center for Global Literacies and Literatures in the University of Arizona College of Education. Critique to Support and Stretch: A Conversation between Juana Martinez-Neal and Molly Idle is free and open to the public who are encouraged to take in the exhibit and engage in visual critique.

English major, Eva Halvax (senior), studies illustrations that Juana Martinez-Neal and Molly Idle say are most representative of their artistic voice. The original illustrations are on loan and part of a new exhibit in Worlds of Words titled “Critique to Support & Stretch: A Conversation between Juana Martinez-Neal & Molly Idle.” Photo credit: Ileana Roman
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