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
WOW News
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.
Students from Paulo Freire Freedom School explore the exhibit, Around the World in 70 Maps.
WOW Stories Indexed by Directory of Open Access Journals
By Rebecca Ballenger, Associate Director, Worlds of Words
The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) now indexes WOW Stories: Connections from the Classroom, a free, open access, on-line, academic publication of Worlds of Words: Center of Global Literacies and Literatures in the University of Arizona College of Education. WOW Stories contains blind, peer-reviewed vignettes written by educators about children’s experiences reading and responding to literature, the content of which will increase in reach as aggregators, databases, libraries and other publishers access the entry in DOAJ.
Virtual Tour of Critique to Support and Stretch
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.
The Tucson Festival of Books Goes Virtual in 2021
The Tucson Festival of Books goes virtual March 6-7, 2021! The Children’s and Teen sessions will be available on-line and live at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Arizona time. Worlds of Worlds: Center of Global Literacies and Literatures has been involved with the festival since its inception, and we will continue this year as your guide. Download a PDF version of the schedule of the Children’s and Teen sessions. For an accessible schedule, visit tucsonfestivalofbooks.org.
Worlds of Words Presents Imagination Fridays
By Aika Adamson, Worlds of Words
Worlds of Words and the Tucson Festival of Books partner to bring excitement and fun to children with our limited series, Imagination Friday. Watch as an author or illustrator appears virtually to discuss their books live with children in classrooms and at home. These bestselling creators do a brief presentation, lead activities and answer questions. This periodic webinar series occurs during the school day on Fridays from 1:00-1:45 PM from September to December 2023 so teachers can share in their classroom. You must register for the webinars to attend and will receive a link to click on and join each webinar. The webinar will be recorded and those who register will receive that link to watch the recording if unable to join us live. Registration links are on the Tucson Festival of Books and on Worlds of Words. Registration is free! Continue reading
Exhibit Features Visual Conversation Between Caldecott Illustrators
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
Worlds of Words Acquires Original Art for “The Caged Birds of Phnom Penh” from Ronald Himler
By Alexandria Hulslander, Worlds of Words Intern
Ronald Himler is an award–winning illustrator with a passion for the process of creating art. A new acquisition of Himler’s work features original watercolor and gouache panels from The Caged Birds of Phnom Penh. The entire set of illustrations for the book is on display through December 20 at Worlds of Words in the University of Arizona College of Education.
Worlds of Words Exhibit Shows Visual Narratives Are Neither “Silent” Nor “Wordless”
Worlds of Words in the University of Arizona College of Education launches “Visual Narratives: Connecting Across Languages and Cultures”, an exhibit of global picturebooks that tell stories primarily through visual images. The exhibit is inspired by the “Silent Books, from the World to Lampedusa and Back,” a traveling exhibit of global books from the International Board on Books for Young People. The exhibit is on display now through December 2019 with an open reception from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on July 25.
Second and third graders from UofA’s Fusion Camp engage with books from around the world that are part of the “Silent Books” exhibit from the International Board on Books for Young People, now on display in Worlds of Words as part of their Visual Narratives exhibit.
Worlds of Words Celebrates International Children’s Book Day
By Alexandria Hulslander, Intern, Worlds of Words
Worlds of Words in the University of Arizona College of Education celebrates International Children’s Book Day with a special exhibit of international honor books for children and adolescents. Lithuania, this year’s host country for ICBD, provides the theme, “Books Help Us to Slow Down.” ICBD has been celebrated for over half a century on the birthday of Hans Christian Anderson, April 2. WOW’s display is free and open to the public from March 25 to April 6.
