Kathy Short is a professor in Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies at the University of Arizona whose scholarship and teaching center around children’s and adolescent literature in a diverse society. Her specific focus is global literature, dialogue, curriculum as inquiry, and intercultural understanding. She has worked extensively with teachers in many parts of the world to develop curriculum that actively engages students as readers and inquirers. She has co-authored and co-edited many books, including Critical Content Analysis of Visual Images in Books for Young People, Critical Content Analysis of Children's and Young Adult Literature, Teaching Globally: Reading the World through Literature, Essentials of Children’s Literature, Creating Classrooms for Authors and Inquirers, and Stories Matter: The Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children’s Literature. She is the director of Worlds of Words: Center of Global Literacies and Literatures, which offers resources and programs to build bridges across global cultures through children’s literature, and served as President of the U.S. national section of the International Board of Books for Young People and the National Council of Teachers of English. She was named Outstanding Educator of the Language Arts by the National Council of Teachers of English and serves on various book award committees, including the Caldecott Medal and the Batchelder Medal. She is the Founder’s Endowed Chair of Global Children’s and Adolescent Literature at the University of Arizona.
