Where Science Meets Storytelling: Award-Winning Children’s Book Author Stacy McAnulty Visits HRA’s Lower School

“I’m a great believer in the idea that many voices are important in children’s lives,” said Susanne Swain ’78, Director of Lower School at Hampton Roads Academy. Every day, her students benefit from interactions with multiple educators in a variety of settings, including resource teachers as well as their primary classroom instructors. On Wednesday, February 25, Lower Schoolers were introduced to another voice that enriched their learning from a new angle when award-winning children’s book author Stacy McAnulty spent the day at HRA.

McAnulty is the author of more than 40 books, including fiction and nonfiction picture books as well as early chapter books and middle-grade novels and nonfiction. In her works, the North Carolina-based writer draws on her background as a mechanical engineer and her lifelong passion for STEM to craft intelligent stories for intelligent children.

Having struggled to read in her early years, McAnulty appreciates that even those students for whom reading is a challenge invariably enjoy stories and want to discover them. “I love science. I love math. And I love stories! I don’t believe these things must orbit in different galaxies,” she said. “In my books and in my presentations, I aim to entertain, spark curiosity, and nurture a love of reading.”

While at HRA, McAnulty shared works from her Our Universe series with Lower Schoolers in every grade level, showcasing how the written word could bring science education to life and capture young learners’ imaginations. Her visit represents the Lower School’s commitment to collaborating with artists in the wider community to complement and enhance students’ experience in the classroom. Along with the annual Winter Story Day earlier in the month, the all-Lower School Reading Challenge in January and early February, and the First Grade-Senior Buddies pajamas-and-hot-cocoa party at holiday time, this special occasion also embodies a season-long celebration of the cozy joy of picking up a good book.

A Visit Months in the Making

Now in its third year, the annual author visit is one of the most anticipated traditions on the Lower School calendar. Organizing this event had been a goal and a priority for Swain ever since she stepped into her current role over a decade ago. In 2023, thanks to grant funds secured by Director of Educational Technology Melissa DeBoer, the dream finally became a reality.

Every summer, a committee of faculty members from each grade level begins formulating plans to invite an author to campus, researching and selecting age-appropriate books for readers in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 4. Throughout the process, school librarian Amanda MacDonnell plays a central role in helping Swain and her team identify a writer who will provide the most memorable and enriching experience possible for the students. MacDonnell was also instrumental this year in securing and distributing copies of McAnulty’s books for every Lower School class ahead of her visit.

According to Swain, the Author Village agency has also been an outstanding partner over the past three years in coordinating presentations by authors whose work aligns well with the values and curriculum of HRA. Author Village and its affiliated talent, the Lower School director said, “are eager to work with us, because we are one of the few schools that they visit where the children are well-prepared before the author comes and where the author feels like their work is being celebrated.”

Learning through Storytelling

In the previous two years, the Lower School invited authors who are also illustrators. In order to keep a greater focus on the craft of writing this year, Swain explained, she made a point of selecting an author who collaborates with separate illustrators in producing her works.

Her other priority was to choose an author who had published a series of books to provide “a continuum across all grade levels,” she said. McAnulty’s Our Universe series, illustrated by Stevie Lewis and David Litchfield, matched this vision perfectly. Featuring such acclaimed titles as Sun! One in a Billion (a 2019 Irma Black Award semifinalist) and Our Planet! There’s No Place Like Earth (winner of the 2023 SCBWI Golden Kite Award for a nonfiction text for younger readers), the series also presented a unique combination of STEM subject matter and a sample of children’s literature at its finest.

In the leadup to McAnulty’s visit, students in each grade read one of the Our Universe books and completed research-based projects dealing with the Earth, the solar system, and the cosmos at large. Texts were selected based largely on their alignment with students’ developmental levels, with works richer in factual detail reserved for the second, third, and fourth graders. For younger children, the Lower School team chose books dealing with broad topics that the students are exploring in class, such as marine life (Ocean! Waves for All) for pre-kindergarteners and the moon (Moon! Earth’s Best Friend) for kindergarteners.

For later grades, books were chosen to reflect specific aspects of the curriculum. The first graders, for example, read Our Solar System! A Stellar Neighborhood to complement their lessons on all the planets. To align with their study of geography, meanwhile, the second graders picked up Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years, detailing the planet’s evolution. Mars! Earthlings Welcome contains many references to classical mythology, making it an ideal text for the third graders as they explore ancient civilizations in their classes. Finally, the fourth graders’ focus book, Our Planet!, provides rich information on environmental concerns, opening conversations for these most advanced Lower Schoolers not only about science, but also about their responsibilities as citizens of the world.

McAnulty spent the morning of her full-day visit meeting with the student body of each grade level in the Lower School Commons, reading from her books, engaging in a broader discussion about the universe and how scientific facts informed her authorial choices, and providing insight into her career path as an engineer-turned-author. She also explained the process whereby books are created, from an initial idea through the delivery of a finished product.

Afterward, she enjoyed lunch with a group of student representatives, including fourth grader Grant Brown ’34, third graders West McFarland ’35 and Scarlett Morejon ’35, and second grader Luna Meng ’36, in the Mary and Larry Pope Dining Hall. She then started her afternoon with a hallway tour of displayed student enrichment projects inspired by her work, led by Lower School music teacher Erika Caulford and student guides from each grade level.

Finally, before she departed the school, McAnulty took the time to sign students’ personal copies of her books and share a one-on-one moment with each Lower Schooler.

An Unforgettable Day for All

Watching students interact with their guest, Swain noted, is her favorite part of the author visit every year.

“I’m always so proud of the students for the insightful questions that they ask,” she said. “Their questions show me that they have been listening and absorbing and learning. I love to see that.”

Without exception, visiting authors have echoed the Lower School director’s praise for HRA’s youngest students’ thoughtfulness and genuine enthusiasm for learning.

During her day at HRA, McAnulty noted that she was especially impressed by the high-level questions posed by the Lower School’s many “science-minded scholars.” “I want to encourage them to keep loving that science and researching what they’re excited about,” she said.

“The students were so prepared and so engaged from the moment I stepped foot on campus,” the author remarked shortly before departing the school. “I’m just so thankful I got to come here.”