Social Emotional Learning Skills For All: A Carol Hinz Interview About the SEL Tool Kit

Okay, folks, today we’re talking about feelings. Big feelings. Big big feelings! And here to help us talk about such things is none other than Carol Hinz. Carol’s the Associate Publisher of Millbrook Press and Carolrhoda Books, divisions of Lerner Publishing Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Turns out, Lerner has something called the SEL Tool Kit, which consists of, “stories with characters dealing with everything from big feelings, friendship issues, to body autonomy boundaries, and to develop language to share thoughts and feelings, as well as social emotional learning skills to help meet their individual social emotional needs.”

Carol was kind enough to talk to me about the books, so off we go!

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Betsy Bird: Carol! Thanks so much for talking with me today. So the term SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) isn’t new, but I feel like educators, librarians, and publishers are constantly trying to figure out the best ways to use books that address SEL topics with kids. So what, precisely, is the SEL Tool Kit and how do you see it being used?

Carol Hinz: Betsy, thank you so much for having me! Back in 2019 and 2020, we started looking at which of our picture books tied in with SEL themes and we found there were quite a lot. Our SEL Tool Kit gives caregivers and educators a shortcut to quickly connect with some of our picture books that have strong SEL elements.

BB: And is the Tool Kit a one-time deal or will it be updated with new titles in the future? 

Carol: We’re definitely planning to continue updating it. A certain 2024 picture book that I know you’re a fan of, Touch the Sky by Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic and Chris Park, would be a great fit when we update! And for folks who want to do a deeper dive into our SEL offerings for all ages, our website has lots more here.

BB: Does the Tool Kit cover a range of ages or a very specific age group set?

Carol: With the Tool Kit, we focused on picture books for grades K–3. Our goal is to highlight readalouds that caregivers and kids can enjoy together while exploring various SEL themes.

BB: Can you tell us a little bit about how these specific titles were selected? Were there specific topics in mind that you wanted to make sure you included, or is this more of a sampler set of topics, all important in their own way?

Carol: Casel, which is my go-to resource for SEL info, references five themes, and we wanted to make sure the books in our tool kit encompass the full range: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Responsible Decision-Making, Relationship Skills, and Social Awareness. Additionally, we wanted to feature a variety of characters and settings.

Here are the titles in the Tool Kit, including the themes they touch on.

Bear’s Big Idea and Big Bear and Little Fish by Sandra Nickel and Il Sung Na: Two charming stories about a worried bear and an optimistic fish who develop a friendship despite their many differences.

Themes: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, and Relationship Skills

Ella McKeen, Kickball Queen by Beth Mills: A spunky girl prides herself on being the best at kickball and has an epic midgame meltdown when a new girl with spectacular skills shows up.

Themes: Self-Management, Responsible Decision-Making, and Relationship Skills

Niko Draws a Feeling by Bob Raczka and Simone Shin: A boy makes art showing not what he sees but what he feels, and until a new girl moves to the neighborhood, those around him don’t understand his creations.

Themes: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, and Relationship Skills

Rissy No Kissies by Katie Howes and Jess Engle: A young lovebird doesn’t like kisses and must find ways (with the support of her mother) to tell others how she would rather share affection.

Themes: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Relationship Skills, and Social Awareness

Sasquatch and Squirrel by Chris Monroe: A sasquatch is happy living alone in the woods and by chance encounters a high-energy squirrel. After a series of hilarious mishaps, they become friends.

Themes: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Responsible Decision-Making, Relationship Skills

Sensitive by Sara Levine and Mehrdokht Amini: Various people tell a girl that she’s too sensitive and needs to change. She absorbs these messages into her body and eventually finds a way to creatively transform the negative comments into an affirmation that being sensitive is her strength.

Themes: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Responsible Decision-Making, and Relationship Skills

BB: What, to your mind, makes a successful SEL book? How should authors and artists engage with the material? What should authors bear in mind when writing these books?

Carol: Ahh, I love this question! This gets to the heart of the types of things I’m thinking about when editing fictional picture books. To my mind, every fictional picture book has to begin with a captivating story and characters that kids can connect with in some way. The SEL elements should feel like a natural part of the storyline and not something added in after the fact to “fortify” the book with a lesson. Critically, I don’t think a picture book needs to function as a how-to manual, earnestly showing kids exactly how to correctly implement SEL skills. Instead, a book can raise questions, make us laugh, and give us a chance to experience things alongside the characters. The process of reading picture books (and talking about them with others) helps foster empathy and can spark conversations that help readers develop SEL skills and, in time, figure out how to use them in their own lives.

BB: Got it. Anything else we should know about the kits?

Carol: These books are all available at www.lernerbooks.com as well as, as the saying goes, everywhere books are sold!

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Big time thanks to Carol for taking the time to answer all my questions today! Carol Hinz is Associate Publisher of Millbrook Press and Carolrhoda Books, divisions of Lerner Publishing Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She’s passionate about picture books, poetry, and nonfiction for young people. Find her on BlueSky at @carolhinz.bsky.social.

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