They created stories in which their main characters went on exciting adventures. On May 1, five young authors went on one of their own.
Ansley Gratzmiller, Kayden Crisanti, Ellafair DuRrant, Sadie Gamble and Railyn Joyner spent a day at the South Carolina State House being honored by both the House of Representatives and the Senate for winning the 2025 Children’s Book Challenge, an education initiative sponsored by The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina in which students from across the state were asked to write and illustrate a children’s book that focused on staying safe around electricity.
Gratzmiller, a fourth grade student at Buist Academy for Advanced Studies in Charleston, won the individual state grand prize for her book, Electra, A Girl’s Journey to Electrical Safety.
Crisanti, DuRant, Gamble, and Joyner of Laurence Manning Academy in Manning won the group prize with their collaborative creation, Uncle Phil and the Electric Adventure.
Each book won local contests sponsored by Berkeley Electric Cooperative and Black River Electric Cooperative, respectively.
All five students were recognized from the floor of both the House and Senate. State Representatives Fawn Pedalino of Clarendon County, House Speaker Murrell Smith of Sumter and Sylleste Davis of Berkeley County presented a joint resolution celebrating the authors’ blending of “creativity with an important message—teaching children how to stay safe around electricity.”
With family members alongside them, the students entered the Senate gallery for floor recognition from Sen. Larry Grooms of Berkeley and Jeff Zell of Clarendon County. The students also got to meet and take photos with members of their local delegation.
“It was pretty cool, getting recognized by all these different people,” says Gratzmiller. “I thought that I was just writing a story. I never thought it would lead to all of this.”
The adventure is not over for young authors. Both books will be published and distributed to elementary libraries across the state at the beginning of the next academic year. The winners also received $500 for their winning books.
