Three Barrington High School computer science students have written and illustrated a picture book which aims to convince other girls that computer coding and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) aren’t just for boys.
“Breaking the Code with Gabriella” tells the story of a young girl who joins a robotics club where she discovers she is the only girl. The boys in the club mock her until they realize that she is skillful at robotics. The authors avoid a predictable ending to create a believable story.
In addition to the plot, the book includes many easy-to-understand definitions and explanations of robotics and STEM.
Authors Hafsah Khan, Sarah Pinto, and Cindy Wang are actually members of the Despicable Machine robotics team, which is coached by computer science teachers Kristen Lewis and Thomas Bredemeier.
Bredemeier emphasized that the three young ladies created the book completely on their own, without input from him or Lewis.
Khan said that Pinto was the person who decided they should write the picture book because a friend of hers had created a picture book that explained a complicated subject in a way that was understandable for children.
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“We wanted to do something like that,” Khan explained.
The young authors decided that a picture book, which could be appropriate for kids as young as first or second grade, “showing a girl on a robotics team, would help with breaking the gender barriers,” Khan said.
They began working on the book in April by studying other picture books in the library, particularly the ones related to STEM, the authors told Pioneer Press.
“We saw what was already out there because we wanted to offer something new to the picture book market,” Pinto said.
They completed the book over the summer, with Pinto and Wang writing the text and Khan doing all of the illustrations.
“They did the project by themselves without my prior knowledge at all over the summer,” said Bredemeier. “It was a complete surprise to me but a wonderful surprise.”
The teacher said he was impressed by the high quality of the book, including the illustrations and the narrative.
“This is a 40-page picture book professionally done,” Bredemeier said. “There’s a lot of solid content in it.”
Bredemeier said the book weaves interesting STEM topics into it. Though the protagonist in the story didn’t win in the end, he said, another younger girl was inspired to become involved with a robotics team.
Bredemeier is equally impressed with how the trio financed the printing of the book and other costs.
“Back in March, April and May, all the money we got to publish the book and also to buy copies of it was raised through sponsor donations from companies,” Wang said. “We reached out to local engineering firms or people we were told had an interest in robotics, or STEM in general, and got some other grants from companies.”
Bredemeier said the girls raised over $10,000 from at least a dozen different donors.
All three authors have had a longtime interest in STEM fields.
Khan, a 16-year-old junior, first became interested in STEM when she was in middle-school.
“There was a competition going on and I thought it was interesting so I tried out,” she said.
She said she has continued to participate in STEM competitions since then.
Pinto, a 17-year-old senior, said she has always loved science.
“I really like the engineering process,” she said.
Like Khan, Pinto also participates in outreach and documentation for the robotics team.
“We’re trying to get more members and trying to get more promotion,” Pinto said.
Pinto particularly loves aerospace and flew to Florida to watch a rocket launch.
Wang, a 15-year-old sophomore, said she first became interested in STEM in elementary school when she participated in a competition similar to the ones that their robotics team participates in – but designed for younger students.
“I really like math and coding,” Wang said. “So on the team, I am coding and incorporating math into that when I can.”
The trio is promoting their book by reading it to students at each of the eight elementary schools in Barrington School District 220 – which the high school is also part of.
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“We talk to [the elementary school kids] about our feelings towards robotics and how we love the team,” Pinto said.
They have also given copies of the book to their two local libraries.
The authors are still trying to figure out how to distribute the book more widely.
“These are dedicated young women who will let nothing stop them,” said Bredemeier.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelancer.