Picture Book Powerhouse: Top Titles of 2025

To register for this webinar please follow this link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/7017617415248/WN_3TT8zfwhRr-TzIUkvhLIOg. Sessions are free and available only to members of the Michigan library community. Registrants will receive instructions and a link to attend the session directly from PCI after they register.

Looking for inspiration for your next storytime, library, or display? Join us for an energetic tour of the best picture books published in 2025. From laugh-out-loud adventures to creative works of art, this presentation features stories that spark joy, prompt reflection, and celebrate one another’s experiences. Whether for classrooms, storytimes, or family reading, you’ll leave ready to refresh your programs and collections with new gems that showcase the beauty of illustration and embody the heart of storytelling.

Participants will:

• Build a “go-to” list of the year’s top read-alouds and visual standouts.
• Gather ideas for using these titles in programming, curriculum, collection development, reader’s advisory, and family engagement.
• Learn simple ways to evaluate picture books.
• Discover new authors and illustrators who reflect today’s diverse world.

Instructor: Katie Clausen holds an MLIS from Dominican University and an MA in Children’s Literature from Simmons College. She has held positions across multiple public library systems, both large to small, in various leadership roles. Katie has presented widely on children’s literature, storytelling, and fairy-tale studies, with her writing featured in Children & Libraries and Marvels & Tales. She is a current PhD candidate in Information Studies at Dominican University.

PCI Webinars are recorded and available to members of the Michigan library community in the Library of Michigan's Niche Staff Skills Academy about a week after they air. New webinars will be in the New category for several weeks. You do not need to register for a webinar in order to view it later in the Staff Skills Academy.

This project is made possible by grant funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) administered by the State of Michigan through the Library of Michigan.