WOW Reads

In this final reflection on the year, Teen Reading Ambassadors hardly know who we are. We changed up the teen program to emphasize social and artistic opportunities to share what we are reading. Teens chose our themes and used a broader selection of books, directed our own conversations and created and distributed response art in the form of ‘zines. In this episode, we talk about our bad reading h...

In this final reflection on the year, Middle School Reading Ambassadors say we indulged ourselves in truth through fiction. In our experience, books tell us stories that we might not otherwise have access to about important topics that require discussion. We’ve learned how to ask good questions and make connections. Also, we’ve had growth in our ability to talk about these topics with each other a...

Join the Worlds of Words Center Middle School Reading Ambassadors (MSRAP) as we recap our experience around Alone (and Away ) by Megan E. Freeman. In this episode, we talk about...  The ways we are prepared, or not, for an “imminent threat” event. Books in verse and how poetry and prose differ. The importance of “what if” questions and how they can be suppressed. Megan’s openness, careful acknowle...

Join the Worlds of Words Teen Reading Ambassadors as we discuss the 2026 Tucson Festival of Books (TFOB). Books & Authors mentioned: Warriors graphic novels by Natalie Riess & Sara Goetter (Erin Hunter, not at TFOB) Lynn Painter ( Fake Skating ) Emiko Jean ( Love Me Tomorrow ) Kat Cho ( K Verse books) Heiress of Nowhere by Stacie Lee Scott Campbell ( Cabin Head Tree Head ) Julie Kagawa ( S...

Join the Worlds of Words Center Middle School Reading Ambassadors (MSRAP) as we recap our experience around The Freedom Seeker by Ruchira Gupta. In this episode, we talk about...  Preparing for the Tucson Festival of Books Mixed-faith families and polarization Cultural and political polarization in the general or historical sense The importance of hope for Ruchira Gupta Community as a critical too...

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...

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 nom...

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 Ch...

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 Sa...

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 Dig...

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 fa...

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...

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 sta...

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...  The UA Museum of Art Center for Creative Photography Greiven...

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 E...

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 foun...

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 beauti...

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 det...

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...  Our connections with the main character, Summer, and the fun we have when we reunite with distant family. How Buffalo Dreamer is the first formal introduction for the Reading Ambassadors about Residential/Industrial Schools f...

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 h...

"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 th...

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...

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 Festival of...

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 curre...

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...