by Kathy G. Short

Global literature for children and adolescents has become increasingly available in the United States but is still a relatively small proportion of the number of books published each year. Recent statistics for 2013 from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center show the continuing decrease in the number of books depicting people of color from either the U.S. or the world, down to 7.3% of the total books received in 2013. The number of translated books published in the U.S. continues to be a very small percentage, 2-3%, of the total books for children published each year. Continue reading →

by Kathy G. Short

Young children understand the world through making connections to their lives and experiences within their families and communities. Some educators believe that their need for connections means that young children are egocentric and unable to understand cultures outside of their immediate life experiences. We believe that story provides a way for young children to see themselves as connected to children around the world. They may not understand where that specific community is located–seeing the other side of the globe as a nearby city–but they can still feel connected to children living in communities that differ from their own. Continue reading →

by Kathy G. Short

The oral stories that are shared in families both reflect and build on family funds of knowledge, providing a potential connection for meaningful home/school partnerships. At Worlds of Words, we have been exploring family story backpacks as a way to connect with families. Typically, the materials we send home from school tell parents how to do school with their child rather than encouraging them to share their stories and knowledge with us—we want to bring the home into school rather than just take school into the home. Continue reading →

by Kathy G. Short

The focus of the June blogs is on the classroom resources that we have been developing in Worlds of Words to encourage the integration of global literature into preschool, elementary, and middle school classrooms. Each blog will focus on a different resource, describing the resource and the ways in which we are exploring that resource in classrooms as well as providing links to book lists and engagements for educators who want to create their own sets of these resources. Continue reading →