Arts-In-Education Exploratory Enrichment

Why Nonfiction Picture Books Are Essential and How to Effectively Share Them with Your Students

Presented by Selene Castrovilla

Award-winning author Selene Castrovilla discusses the essential human components inside nonfiction picture books, sharing what has compelled her to write them for eighteen years. Today’s children need nonfiction picture books to navigate their formative years. These books provide understanding and clarity in a confusing world. They provoke empathy by showing the passion and anguish people experience which propels them into action. They inspire through example and suggest possibilities beyond the immediate landscape. They instill hope for humanity and a realization that we are more the same than different. When we read about other people, we are reading about ourselves. Selene will also address the importance of artwork in picture books and explain why the artist's story interpretation and individual style are just as crucial as the words are. Participants will walk away inspired and equipped to share nonfiction picture books with their young readers in a whole new light.