Words Without Borders Campus

Helping Students Deal with Disasters

Posted on January 10, 2025

A globe representing the Earth lies on its side on a grass field.

This weekend marks fifteen years since the destructive 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. In remembrance of the tragedy, we're rereading a reflection from Haitian author Lyonel Trouillot, who survived the quake. The anniversary also coincides with devastating forest fires in the United States and ongoing cleanups from many other recent natural disasters across the world. Reading global literature responding to past disasters may help students living through current ones feel less alone as they process these events. This blog post from 2024 offers some trauma-informed strategies for reading and teaching the literature. —Eds.

Off-Campus: Bringing Diverse Lit to Young Readers with Promised Protagonists

Posted on December 16, 2024

In the second installment of our interview series "Off-Campus," WWB's Maggie Vlietstra spoke to Katie Lin, high school student and founder of the youth-led organization Promised Protagonists, which aims to help kids feel reflected in the literature they read. Katie spoke to us about connecting to heritage through books, underrepresented countries in middle-grade lit, and what she’s reading right now.

10 Stories and Poems for Reading Africa Week

Posted on December 02, 2024

Blue graphic that reads #ReadingAfrica 2024, December 1-7.

During the first week of December, WWB Campus is #ReadingAfrica! Started by indie publisher Catalyst Press in 2017, Reading Africa Week “bring[s] attention to writers who are doing diverse and genre-spanning work from every corner of the African continent.” It’s a great opportunity to introduce students to literature from a part of the world that is often overlooked on classroom curricula. Here are 10 works of literature from Africa that cover a range of countries, languages, and genres to start you on your reading journey:

A Tour of Latin American Kid Lit in 15 Translations

Posted on November 17, 2024

A collage of fifteen book covers against a yellow background.

Looking for Latin American reading beyond the usual favorites? A panel of children's translators has identified fifteen great new books, spanning the Caribbean and Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and more:

Off-Campus: Talking Asian Kid Lit with Expert Nancy Hope

Posted on October 20, 2024

In a new blog post series, “Off-Campus,” Words Without Borders Campus talks to some of the most interesting people in world kid lit, global education, and international publishing.