WOW Reads
Worlds of Words Center of Global Literacies and Literatures is committed to creating an international network of people who share the vision of bringing books and children together, thereby opening windows on the world. The WOW Reads podcast centers voices of young readers who serve as Reading Ambassadors by engaging in literature discussions and author interviews and sharing books in their school and social contexts. Worlds of Words is a center in the University of Arizona College of Education.
Episodes
Join the Worlds of Words Teen Reading Ambassadors as we discuss disability experiences in K-12 literature.
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...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Reading Ambassadors (RAP) as we recap our experience around predicting the 2026 Randolph Caldecott Medal winner for picturebook illustration.
In this episode, we discuss...
- Our understanding of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Caldecott committee's criteria and process for selection.
- How we used those understandings in determining our nomination and final voting...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Middle School Reading Ambassadors (MSRAP) as we recap our experience around Don’t Cause Trouble by Arree Chung.
In this episode, we talk about...
- Our Star Burger orders.
- Awkward moments in middle school life and being “halfway to somewhere.”
- Our creative processes, both digital and with physical media, in writing and illustration.
- The Cold War and Communism in China.
- We recommend this book f...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Teen Reading Ambassadors (TRAP) as we discuss the refugee experience in children's literature.
Books mentioned in this episode:
"We Are Displaced" by Malala Yousafzai
"The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees" by Don Brown
"Ink Knows No Borders" edited by Patrice Vecchione and Alissa Raymond
"Internment" by Samir Ahmed
"From the...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Middle School Reading Ambassadors (MSRAP) as we recap our experience around Halfway to Somewhere by Jose Pimienta.
In this episode, we discuss...
- Jo’s creative process.
- The places and spaces we feel halfway between.
- We recommend this book for our parents and teachers (the OG book influencers), our friends and basically everyone!
This podcast was recorded in the Digital Innovation and L...
Worlds of Words Center Middle School and Teen Reading Ambassadors discuss the past academic year as they read and promoted reading together.
For us, books and bagels are a natural pairing. Bruegger's by the University of Arizona, if you're listening, know that once a month since January of 2018, multiple bagel bundles fuel our reading discussions. This is not a paid announcement, just facts. But... if you have cheddar to s...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Teen Reading Ambassadors (TRAP) as we discuss The Strange Case of Harleen and Harley by Melissa Marr.
In a special combined group of middle and high school readers, the Reading Ambassadors came together where story worlds collide -- in this case, DC Comics, the gothic world of Robert Lewis Stevenson, and author Melissa Marr's imagination. We thoroughly enjoyed Melissa's second visi...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Teen Reading Ambassadors (TRAP) as we discuss Dear Manny by Nic Stone.
Nic Stone is open and warm, just like her favorite color -- orange. We discuss her commentary on lies (fiction is truth through the lens of a lie), her degree in psychology (understanding human experience helps with character development) and the habit of pursing discomfort (helps us grow and staves off boredom).
Join the Worlds of Words Center Reading Ambassadors (middle and high school) as we recap our experience around University of Arizona Museum Day.
Twelve cultural and science collections on the U of A campus offered free or reduced admission and special programming on Saturday, March 29, 2025. In this bonus episode, we briefly discuss...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Middle School Reading Ambassadors (MSRAP) as we recap our experience around A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga.
In this episode, we discuss...
- How are we seen in real life and in books? How do we see ourselves?
- In what ways do we help or hinder our relationships with friends and family?
- The tight nature of writing in the mystery genre.
- And Emaline takes a clear stance...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Teen Reading Ambassadors (TRAP) as we discuss The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow.
In this episode the Teen Reading Ambassadors talk about perceptions of love and life as idyllic, though the reality of most people's experiences aren't always so tidy. We also appreciate Kathleen's writing advice, which could also help with college applications, and found Kathleen's experien...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Teen Reading Ambassadors (TRAP) as we discuss Destination Unknown by Bill Konigsberg.
Wherever our destination is, we will enjoy the music! In this episode the Teen Reading Ambassadors talk about the joys of banter between friends, complicated family interactions, and how music connects us regardless of the decade. We, like Bill, hope everyone finds love in a beautiful way.
Band men...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Middle School Reading Ambassadors (MSRAP) as we recap our experience around predicting the 2025 Randolph Caldecott Medal winner for picturebook illustration.
In this episode, we discuss...
- Our understanding of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Caldecott committee's criteria and process for selection.
- How we used those understandings in determining our nomination ...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Middle School Reading Ambassadors (MSRAP) as we recap our experience around Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan.
In this episode, we discuss...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Middle School Reading Ambassadors (MSRAP) as we recap our experience around Miracle by Karen S. Chow.
In this episode, we discuss...
- Everyone needs an editor -- and multiple kinds! SO to the copy editor who led Chow to her eventual decision to have the characters play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild throughout Miracle.
- Relationships and mind reading and how we can short ourselves ...
"We had ups." - Gabriel
Worlds of Words Center Middle School and Teen Reading Ambassadors discuss the past academic year as they read and promoted reading together.
As each group read their four novels, we encountered issues around banned books, school libraries, and talking to grownups. We learned about the process of creating and promoting books for young people and are grateful for the diversity broug...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Middle School and Teen Reading Ambassadors as we discuss A Little Like Waking by Adam Rex.
We open the episode by describing our time with Rex as "meeting a legend in person." We chat about dreams and love and the duality of both. We also discuss getting back on the proverbial bike and whether we need a push off a cliff or to jump on our own.
We failed to talk about the bo...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Middle School Reading Ambassadors (MSRAP) as we discuss Alebrijes by Donna Barba Higuera.
In this episode, we discuss
Other books mentioned in this episode:
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
We will post Higuera's graph on our Instagram account at the end of the season. Watch for it there at @WOWTeenAmbassadors.
Special shout out to Tucson Festiva...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Teen Reading Ambassadors (TRAP) as we discuss The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee by Ellen Oh.
Meeting Oh sparked our thinking around diversity in books for teens, book bans, ghost stories, and how far we are willing to go with research in service to story telling. There's plenty of Ellen Oh love in this group.
In this episode, we also mention:
Sunshine: a currently unpublishe...
Join the Worlds of Words Center Teen Reading Ambassadors (TRAP) as we discuss Up In Flames by Hailey Alcaraz.
We talk retellings in general and this one specifically as well as new-to-us information about the auction process in publishing in this episode of WOW Reads.
Books and other retellings mentioned in this episode:
Anna K by Jenny Lee
Because You Love to Hate Me edited by Amerie
Gone with the Win...
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