EAST LONGMEADOW – “All kids like big trucks and diggers,” said architectural photographer Erin Chrusciel. As part of her work, she sees these machines often. When taking photos of the construction of the MGM Head Start Center, at 149 Union St. in Springfield, she kept thinking how the kids would never see the people who built their school. Then, she realized she could show children exactly who built their school and how.

“I couldn’t not do it,” Chrusciel told Reminder Publishing, of writing her children’s book, “Who Built My Ziggy-Zaggy School?”

Her children were around the same age as the ones who would be attending the MGM Head Start Center and so she brought them to the construction site to see their reaction. She said they enjoyed seeing the building going up and one of them commented on the Head Start’s “ziggy-zaggy” roof. “I had my title,” Chrusciel recalled.

For the MGM Head Start Center, she took pictures from the first step of the project, all the way to the ribbon cutting. The book used the building’s real architectural drawings, as well as the photos Chrusciel took of the construction process. Chrusciel wanted the 3- to 5-year-old target audience to imagine themselves as carpenters, painters, roofers and other building professionals, so her friend, artist Jill Kovalchik, drew the character of Tyeka and Graphic Designer Chris Mullins overlaid the illustrations into the photos to create an imaginative world, where the little girl is showing readers around the construction site.

Chrusciel worked on the book for about three years. Because the book was created with learning in mind, there are questions throughout the pages, such as “What tool would a carpenter use to nail the wood,” and “Water, walls and windows all start with what letter?” With help from Head Start teachers, Chrusciel created a list of questions and activities at the back of the book for teachers to explore with their classes.

One of the aspects of the construction that Chrusciel wanted to highlight was the environmentally sustainable systems built into the school, such as the solar panels on the roof and the rain barrel, which collects water from the roof to use irrigating the grounds.

The author also wanted to make sure the book was representative, so any child could see themselves in construction.

“I was intentional about making sure there were women represented,” Chrusciel said, as well as people of color, as there is a large population of families of color in the community where the MGM Head Start is located.
She named the main character after Tyeka Robinson, a carpenter on the project. In fact, the book is dedicated to her and “those who work hard in all kinds of weather to create safe, beautiful places for people they may never meet.”

In March, Chrusciel read the book to the children at the MGM Head Start Center. She said the preschoolers shouted, “That’s my school,” while she read and ran up to hug her afterward. “Honestly,” she said, “that’s why I wrote it. That moment right there.” The students each took home a copy of the book. For now, the author is seeking grant funding to publish enough copies of the book to have one in every school library in Springfield.

To learn more about Chrusciel’s photography or about “Who Built My Ziggy-Zaggy School?,” visit https://www.instagram.com/erinchrusciel.