Welcome to Worlds of Words. You will find useful resources on this site for building bridges between cultures. These resources include strategies for locating and evaluating culturally authentic international children’s and adolescent literature as well as ways of engaging students with these books in classrooms and libraries. Use the blue navigation bar at the top of the page to browse or search our growing database of books, to read one of our two on-line journals, or to learn more about our mission. Take time to explore the site and return often as we expand to include more voices like yours.
What’s New at WOW
Challenging situations that involve characters’ personal, social, and cultural lives often compel young people to take courageous steps as agents for social change. Contemporary international literature provides rich demonstrations for readers about the variety of ways in which young people take action for social change. WOW Review: Reading Across Cultures Volume 3, Issue 4 includes books that cross ages, eras, and contexts in showing readers the spirit and strength that undergird the many ways of taking action. These thought provoking books include ones for younger, intermediate, and older readers.
Literacy Communities: Global Gateways to Innovation
Worlds of Words is excited to announce a second round of grants of $1000 for literacy communities who want to explore the use of global literature to build international understanding. Schools, elementary through high school, are eligible to form collaborative communities that focus on strengthening the literacy curriculum through the use of global literature. Deadline for the applications are August 15th. Details of the grant and application process can be found here.
Pam Muñoz Ryan, in The Dreamer, makes the early life and artistic inspirations of Nobel Poet Laureate Pablo Neruda accessible for younger readers. The drawings of Peter Sis complement Ryan’s sensitive writing. Join WOW Currents for a month of responses that you have or your student’s have had to The Dreamer.
This week WOW Currents focuses on readers sharing responses to The Dreamer. Join the discussion, in both Spanish and English, of The Dreamer with the blog Reader Response: The Dreamer II.
See our complete listing of all WOW Currents entries.
Each Wednesday, we spotlight an entry from our WOW Books database and ask you to provide insight about the book by leaving a comment.
In what seems like a cacophony of “Me! Me!” in the media today, we can easily overlook narratives woven around helping others. In July, WOW Books is focusing on stories touching higher aspirations. Enjoy this month’s selections of books spotlighting people who have found how rewarding it is to act in a way to change the lives of others.
What do you do when have collected and read a room full of books? You share your passion with others! But that isn’t easy when you live in rural Colombia as Luis Soriano does. So, he created a library. And if people can’t come to the library, the library will go to them. Jeannette Winters shares this true, heart warming story in Biblioburro.
Investigate our first issue of our third volume of WOW Stories with a focus on reading critically through global inquiry. In this issue of WOW Stories: Connections from the Classroom, we present 7 vignettes in which students create intercultural connections by exploring cultures from around the world and cultures closer to home that are different from our own. A real highlight is a classroom in China exploring Western perceptions about them.
WOW Highlights
- ∞ Open Reading Hours: Saturdays – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. & Mondays through Fridays – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
∞ Make a quick and easy online gift to WOW! Your contributions help our programs grow.
∞ WOW Stories and WOW Review are accepting submissions. Our two online journals are available to you without subscription, membership, or fee requirements. We are proud to offer these journals and want to hear from you. E-mail us with questions, feedback, and submissions.