Exploring Language through Translingual Picturebooks
When
Join us for a two-day workshop to engage in experiences and books that invite students to immerse themselves in an appreciation and awareness of the multiple languages in their lives and world. This workshop is based on multilingualism as a resource, not a problem, and on developing strategies for interacting with familiar and unfamiliar languages. In this interactive workshop, we will explore new picturebooks and participate in engagements with these books. We will also interact with several children's authors/illustrators to talk about their global books. You will receive their picturebooks along with booklists and other materials. Registration is limited to 35.
This workshop will be framed around translanguaging, the natural process of flexibly using one's entire linguistic repertoire to make meaning. Translingual picturebooks are written in English but weave another language into the story, often through dialogue between multilingual family and community members. Recently, many picturebooks and novels have been published in a wide range of world languages, not just Spanish and English, with a natural integration of these languages into the book. Our focus is not on learning a language but learning about language and language diversity and coming to view multilingualism as a stance on the world. We will highlight strategies and examples of engaging students with unfamiliar languages both in their communities and in literature. There will be time to browse books, use dialogue strategies for discussion and participate in multilingual engagements.
The books provided to participants will be from Jessica Yoon, Andrea L. Rogers and Rebecca Lee Kunz.
Jessica Yoon is a bestselling author from Philadelphia whose books include Jeong Is Jeong and The Legend of Ban-Dal. She is a member of the Harrisburg Asian Writers Collective and a recipient of the Highlights Foundation's Anti-Bias Book Bearer Scholarship. When not writing, Jessica enjoys Pilates, spicy food and spending time with her husband and kids.
Andrea L. Rogers is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation from Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Her picturebook, Chooch Helped, was awarded the Caldecott Medal. Her young adult novels include Cherokee horror, Man Made Monsters, and Cherokee futurism, The Art Thieves.
Rebecca Lee Kunz grew up in Oklahoma and is a multi-media artist, who owns Tree of Life Studio and is the 2025 Caldecott Award winner. A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Rebecca has a degree in painting from the College of Santa Fe and lives in the foothills of Santa Fe County with her husband and three daughters.
Leaders: Kathy G. Short, Dorea Kleker and Narges Zandi, University of Arizona
Cost: $40 (includes lunch, materials and professional development certificate for 14 hours
Questions, contact: dkleker@arizona.edu or shortk@arizona.edu
This institute is organized and sponsored by the Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL) and Worlds of Words.
Kathy G. Short is a Regents professor, endowed chair of global children's literature in the College of Education/University of Arizona, and Director of Worlds of Words Center of Global Literacies and Literatures (wowlit.org). She has worked extensively with teachers around the world on literature and inquiry and has authored many books and articles. She served as President of the National Council of Teachers of English and the U.S. Board of Books for Young People.
Dorea Kleker is an early childhood teacher, educator and lecturer who works with students and teachers across a wide variety of educational contexts in both the U.S. and Latin America. Her work focuses on global and multicultural children's literature, literacy and play to develop intercultural understanding, and the use of literature to actively engage children as inquirers across all content areas.
Narges Zandi is a doctoral student at the University of Arizona specializing in children's literature within the department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies. Her scholarly work is informed by her background as a teacher in Iran and her graduate studies in primary and pre-primary education. She has a particular focus on the portrayal of immigrant and refugee experiences in picturebooks.
Ticketed parking is available in the Second St. Garage and metered parking is available on the street/surface level through the Passport Mobile Parking app. Worlds of Words Center is also located just off of the 2nd St. Modern Streetcar stop.
To request disability-related accommodations that would ensure your full participation in this event, please email wow@arizona.edu or call 520.621.9340.
Event details may change. More information to follow.