After Two Girls Write Fan Letter, Famous Australian Author Pays Visit

SOUTHAMPTON, NY - A well-known children’s author made the dreams of two students come true on Wednesday when she flew in all the way from Australia just to read to their class at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton.

R.A. Spratt headed to the school Wednesday morning to read excerpts of her beloved “Nanny Piggins” series, and also introduced “Friday Barnes: Girl Detective”, now available in the United States, to the students.

Students from both Bridgehampton schools and the Peconic Community School in Aquebogue were invited to attend the event.

Spratt agreed to come to the Hayground School after receiving an email from two sisters, Madeline, 13, and Samantha Grabb, 10.

“When we wrote to R.A. Spratt we had no idea she would respond, much less come to our school. Her books are hilarious, insightful and full of chocolate-y goodness,” Sam said.

The girls’ mom, Sarah Stenn, said when Greg Harris and Daniel Hirsch, owners of Southampton Books, heard about the author coming, they “immediately and enthusiastically jumped onboard to provide books for the event. They’re amazing. We love our local bookstore.”

For her daughters, meeting their favorite author is a dream come true, Stenn said. The girls sent her an email last June. “I don’t think they expected a response. They just wanted to write to her. The fact that she responded and said she was coming to New York, and said she’d love to come to our little school, it’s amazing.”

Not only that, but Spratt stayed with Stenn and her family, at their home. “The girls are over the moon,” Stenn said. “She’s so special, so grounded and lovely. The whole experience has just been magical from the outset.”

Her daughters first were encouraged to read Spratt’s books by a a librarian at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton, Stenn said; they brought the library’s copy of one of Spratt’s books for the author to autograph.

Madeline said she’s loved Spratt’s books from the start. “They’re really funny.” The girls were able to get the whole series from Australia, she said. “And when we found out that she was coming here, it was so exciting.”

The books, she said, are filled with humor. The books feature an adult pig, Madeline said, “who is so funny and kind. They have all these adventures and I just feel like, ‘Wow, I really want to do that. Why can’t I do that?’”

After Madeline and her sister Sam saw that Spratt was coming to the United States on a tour, they sent her an email describing how they’d discovered her books. After she told her class about the “Nanny Piggins” books, Madeline’s friends loved them, too.

“We were really hoping she would write back. And when she did, and said she was coming, that was really exciting. She’s just an amazing writing, really inspiring.”

Madeline, who said becoming a writer is just one of the career paths she’s considering, added that books can open eyes to new worlds. “They can almost take you to another place. You can walk in the footsteps of someone else, whether it’s a person of a different age, in a different place or time. Books can transport you to somewhere else.”

Sam, 10, agreed. She said meeting her favorite author was really exciting. ”Her books are so funny. I really like them. I love to bake, so I love seeing what delicious things Nanny Piggins cooks up,” she said.

When Spratt responded to her email, Sam was thrilled. “I was over the moon,” she said.

Books, she agreed, “can take you to different places, every single one of them.”

Spratt said she was moved to meet the girls. “It’s fun for me. I find it hard to believe. I live in a small town in Australia, with my office in my house. I sit at my desk, desperately trying to make deadlines. It’s impossible to conceive that there are people on the other side of the planet reading them. It means so much.”

For Spratt, who’s been in New York twice before, once on her honeymoon, the trip is also a new experience, her first ever in the Hamptons.

Reflecting on writing for children, Spratt said, “It’s about telling stories, entertaining kids and helping to question things, not in a bad way, but seeing things in a different way.”

Nanny Piggins, she said, is a pig who ran away from the circus and loves chocolate. “She hasn’t experienced things,” she said; everything is new.

Her goal, Spratt said, is to encourage children to see things differently, in a new light, “to encourage kids to think laterally”.

Reading is important all throughout life, she said, not just in getting a job and becoming part of society. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Stories are important to your mental health, they’re comforting. That’s why we read to children at night, it’s comforting and reassuring. In this crazy age we live in, stories are important. We’re so focused on giving kids a great education, but it’s also important to encourage children to have imagination,” she said.

Reading, Spratt added, helps young minds that might eventually become doctors and engineers to discern new solutions to problems.

“Lateral thinking is really important. Encouraging children to immerse themselves in fantasy and creative thinking is good for their development academically,” she said.

Patch courtesy photo.