Worlds of Words

04/03/2026

Visit Worlds of Words and 14 other U of A centers, museums, collections and institutes on Saturday, April 4, for Museum Day. Participating venues will have special programming and free/reduced admission! Grab a map and ask about passports.

University of Arizona College of Education, African American Museum of Southern Arizona, Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum, The Archive of Visual Arts (AVA), Biosphere 2, Center for Creative Photography, Coit Museum of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium, Health Sciences Innovation Building (University of Arizona Health Sciences), John E. Grievenkamp Museum of Optics, Museum Association of Arizona, Museum of Democracy, University of Arizona Poetry Center, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona Museum of Art

When April 4, 2026, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. eventAdd to Calendar Add Event to Calendar U of A Museum Day 2026 at Worlds of Words April 4, 2026, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Select your calendar type below: Google iCal File Outlook Enterprise (Office 365) Outlook Personal (outlook.com) Yahoo! Where Worlds of Words Ce...

03/04/2026

Call for Manuscripts – Trends in International Children's and Young Adult Literature. Submissions Due: May 1, 2026.

WOW Stories editors invite articles for this special issue on trends or analyses of international literature for children or young adults. International literature is defined as books first published in English or another language outside of the U.S. and then published in the U.S.

Manuscripts are written as vignettes/classroom stories set in classrooms, libraries, or teacher education settings that describe experiences that connect readers and literature to promote intercultural understanding.

Submission guidelines can be found at: https://wowlit.org/on-line-publications/stories/storiesguide

University of Arizona College of Education
Julia Lopez-Robertson Yoo Kyung Sung

WOW Stories Call for Submissions and Guidelines Image WOW Stories: Connections from the Classroom is the refereed journal of the Worlds of Words Center. Manuscripts are written as vignettes/classroom stories set in classrooms, libraries, or teacher education settings that describe experiences that c...

03/02/2026

Those who go on expeditions and journeys know that it may be risky, but the reward can be great. In this WOW Dozen, Janine Schall shares global books about brave explorers and fascinating journeys.

WOW Dozen: Expeditions, Journeys, and Explorations Around the World Today By Janine M. Schall, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX “A true explorer has an original idea, and contributes something meaningful through their journeys. They may encounter a new species, create a map of u...

02/16/2026

"Authors and illustrators become people I know rather than just a name on a book cover, and I read their books with greater insight and connection," says Kathy Short of Tucson Festival of Books sessions.

Prepare for the 2026 Tucson Festival of Books! This WOW Currents covers the notable authors/illustrators attending for children's and teens.

02/06/2026

Attn: Elementary and Middle School Teachers

Join us for a free, in-person professional development workshop for teaching biography through East Asian picturebooks. The workshop includes presentations by experts in the field, six free books for classroom use, lunch and parking, a $50 completion award and 6 PD contact hours.

Applications due March 1, 2026.

Worlds of Words Center, University of Arizona College of Education
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Arizona - College of Humanities

Made possible through funding from the Freeman Foundation to the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia at the Program for Teaching East Asia .

More information at: https://wowlit.org/event/teaching-biography-through-east-asian-picturebooks/

Send a message to learn more

02/04/2026

A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez by Maria Dolores Águila provides an emotional look into the events leading up to the 1931 court battle in which 12-year-old Roberto Alvarez stood against racism and school segregation in Lemon Grove, CA.

This month, Cynthia discusses the impact of A Sea of Lemon Trees by Maria Dolore Aguila for WOW Recommends Book of the Month.

02/03/2026

Explore multiple perspectives of the Partition of 1947, which lead to the creation of Pakistan through the redrawing of boundaries in India, in this month’s two-part WOW Currents.

This month, Seemi Aziz explores children's literature that provide Hindu and Muslim perspectives on the Partition of 1947. Part one looks at four books.

02/02/2026

Just dropped: Teen Reading Ambassadors discuss disability experiences in K-12 literature in the latest episode of WOW Reads.

Books mentioned:
Red Apple (picturebook), by Tadahiro Ogawa
Flutter Forest (picturebook), concept by Colette Pelt
Black Book of Colors (picturebook), by Menena Cottin and Rosana Faria
You Started It (YA), by Jackie Khalilieh
Where You See Yourself (YA) by Claire Forrest
Disability Visibility (YA), edited by Alice Wong
Darius the Great Is Not Okay (YA), by Adib Khorram
Waking Ben Doldrums (picturebook), by Heather Smith and Byron Eggenschwiler
Breathe and Count Back from Ten (YA), by Natalia Sylvester
Incredible Dogs (picturebook), by Mariajose Creixell Moya and Catalina Fuenzalida

Join the Worlds of Words Teen Reading Ambassadors as we discuss disability experiences in K-12 literature.Books mentioned:Red Apple (picturebook), by Tadahiro OgawaFlutter Forest (picturebook), concept by Colette PeltBlack Book of Colors (pictureb...

02/02/2026

National Recognition for Global Literacy Leadership

The University of Arizona College of Education is proud to celebrate the Worlds of Words (WOW) Center of Global Literacies and Literatures for being named the 2026 AACTE Best Practice Award recipient in Support of Global and International Perspectives!

This national honor recognizes WOW’s outstanding work in advancing global literacy and internationally grounded teaching practices that prepare future educators to engage learners with diverse voices and perspectives from around the world. Led by Regents Professor Kathy G. Short, Ph.D., the WOW Center continues to serve as a cross-cultural space that enriches curriculum and strengthens global understanding.

Congratulations to the WOW team on this incredible achievement! The award will be presented at AACTE 2026 in New Orleans. 👏👏

Link: https://edprepmatters.aacte.org/university-of-arizona-named-2026-aacte-best-practice-award-in-support-of-global-and-international-perspectives-recipient/

01/14/2026

Join AZPM for a screening and panel discussion of The Librarians, a powerful documentary exploring libraries, censorship, and the freedom to read.

We’re excited to highlight Rebecca Ballenger, Associate Director of World of Words in the College of Education at the University of Arizona, as one of the featured panelists.

RSVP: https://bit.ly/ualibrarians

12/16/2025

Children’s literature with a focus on the Hopi Tribe has almost exclusively been written by non-Indigenous people. In this month’s WOW Currents, Celeste Trimble discusses "Coming Home: A Hopi Resistance Story" by Mavasta Honyouti (Hopi) as an exceptional informational text from a Hopi perspective to act as a counterstory to this publishing trend.

In our final Currents for 2025, Celeste discusses Hopi voices in children's literature and the picturebook Coming Home: A Hopi Resistance Story.