YOUNGSTOWN –Youngstown City School District high school students are lending their talents to the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read.

Visual and performing arts students at East, Chaney and Youngstown Rayen Early College high schools have joined the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County in the NEA initiative that promotes community reading.

These students read “Into the Beautiful North,” by Luis Alberto Urrea, one of the selections for the Big Read, and collaborated with their teachers and classmates to create murals inspired by the story. The book tells the story of a girl who seeks seven men to help defend her town. The town is in Mexico and most of its male inhabitants have gone to the United States to find work.

The students’ murals will be on display beginning today at the main library in downtown Youngstown.

“We are very excited to be collaborating with the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County and in the NEA Big Read,” said Tracy Schuler Vivo, the school district’s visual and performing arts director. “Through VPA, we are always working to incorporate cross-curricular instruction. A main focus for our district this school year involves literacy and this was a beautiful way to kick off our school year and our 2019-2020 VPA season.”

The project also coincides with Hispanic Heritage Month. The author will visit the Main Public Library at 5 p.m. today, to read excerpts from his book. The reading will be in the area where the “Into the Beautiful North” murals will be on display.

“An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book,” according to the initiative’s website. “Showcasing a diverse range of contemporary titles that reflect many different voices and perspectives, the NEA Big Read aims to inspire conversation and discovery.”