In March, author Jonathan Stutzman and illustrator Heather Fox visited each elementary school in the Penn Manor School District to share their work with students. Stutzman and Fox, who both reside in Lancaster, gave students a glimpse of what a career as an author or illustrator can look like.

At each school that they visited, Stutzman and Fox offered a presentation to each grade level that included a reading of the duo's book titled "Llama Destroys the World." As they discussed the book, Stutzman and Fox explored the topic of creativity by engaging students with interactive activities, such as showing the kids how to draw a character from the story.

Stutzman encouraged the students to affirm their own creativity as well as their classmates' and emphasized a key idea: anyone can be creative and make art. Stutzman explained that he primarily played sports when he was younger, but he also found a passion for writing. When Fox was a student, she was involved in dance and music, but she also fostered a love for drawing that turned into a career as an illustrator. "I was delighted with how they intentionally reached all of the children and said, 'You can be creative,'" said Nancy Nadig, a librarian at Pequea Elementary School. "The kids had such a good time and were totally engaged."

The school visits were made possible by a Venture Grant from the Penn Manor Education Foundation (PMEF); the grant was requested by Nadig and other librarians in the school district. Nadig was first inspired to request the grant after discovering Stutzman and Fox's most recent book through the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association (PSLA). The book - titled "Don't Feed the Coos!" - was featured on PSLA's Young Readers' Choice Awards. After seeing that both Stutzman and Fox are located in Lancaster, Nadig contacted them to ask if they would be interested in visiting the school district. The duo immediately agreed, and Nadig and her fellow librarians began the process of acquiring the grant. "After I found the book and saw that they were both local, as well as their list of accomplishments. It seemed like this was too good of an opportunity to pass up," Nadig added.

The librarians' application for the grant was officially submitted in the fall, and it was approved in December. By the time the grant was approved, Stutzman and Fox's work had become widely popular, and the team's schedule became much busier. Despite their hectic schedule, Stutzman and Fox agreed to arrange the visit for March. Nadig said that since the visits, she can't keep "Llama Destroys the World" on the shelf due to the number of students checking it out of the library.

PMEF offers a variety of grants throughout the year for projects that seek to enrich curricula for students across the school district. In the past, grants have been issued for ventures such as field trips and upgrading technology in classrooms. "The foundation is wonderful; they've afforded me the opportunity to give students this experience," Nadig said. "The kids were able to see that authors and illustrators aren't magical people with unobtainable careers. They're right here in the community, and it's something the kids can do if they want."