#ALSC12 Closing Session: Exploring Nonfiction through Authors and Illustrators

Wow, there is so much passion coming from these panelists! Doreen Rappaport – “Fame is not what determines a life.”  She writes about people who show courage, compassion, who struggle and survive and thrive.  This empowers children to see their own potential.  April Pulley Sayre – this woman is so curious about the natural world! She showed a picture of her kitchen, where she’s working on a new book.  She showed spreads from books of hers that are coming out in the future. She had ideas for new books as she was talking to us!  Her excitement for learning is palpable.  Bryan Collier – holy cow. Such a moving speaker. Told us all that we won’t be able to see it, the kids won’t be able to articulate it, but when we share books with children, we are planting a seed, we are creating a spark.  Throughout his talk, powerful images from Dave the Potter were rotating on the screen behind him.  He spoke at length about creating that book and that it is not about slavery, or pottery, or poetry. It is about literacy. The power of the word.