University of Arizona

Located in the College of Education at the University of Arizona-Tucson, the Worlds of Words (WOW) Project includes both a teaching and research collection of international books for children and adolescents and a website of electronic resources for students and teachers. The project also publishes WOW Stories, vignettes by teachers and librarians in which they share stories about the ways they interact with students around particular international books and WOW Reviews, in-depth critical reviews focusing on the cultural authenticity of specific international books. In the past year, WOW has begun writing a blog, which not only has a solid, active readership but also, a Twitter feed for updating and promoting the website and blog. The website has reported a steady 4% monthly increase in traffic, which spiked in July after content was established and the blog was published.

The project is supported by the international expertise of the members of the Worlds of Words Advisory Board as well as the faculty in Language, Reading and Culture and the large number of doctoral students in the program, many of whom are doctoral students within the department, many of whom are international students with a focus on children’s and adolescent literature. Professional institutes, workshops, and presentations on international literature along with school outreach projects are sponsored by Worlds of Words.

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  Critically Reading the Word and the World: Building Intercultural Understanding through Literature
  
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