What began as a lighthearted suggestion in a law school research session turned into an imaginative leap across history, diplomacy—and childhood. A group of American University Washington College of Law students, affectionately dubbed "Philosopher Queens" by their professor, Paul R. Williams, Ph.D., collaborated on a unique children’s book about peace negotiations. The project grew out of their work on Professor Williams’ forthcoming book, Building Durable Peace, co-authored with former peace negotiators and mediators. “For context, I have taken to calling my students Philosopher Queens,” Professor Williams explained.

The children’s book idea first emerged during a Senior Research Associate (SRA) brainstorming session when Professor Williams challenged the students to explore creative ways to engage with peacebuilding. “Half-joking but also a little serious, I suggested a children’s book,” recalled Sydney Robson. Though initially met with laughter, the idea took root as the SRAs saw it to thank Professor Williams for a transformative experience.

The result was a 44-page hardcover book titled Scrappy and the Philosopher Queens, which follows Professor Williams’ dog, Scrappy, on a journey through time and space to explore peace negotiations. Each story corresponds to a chapter in Building Durable Peace and introduces themes like disarmament, justice, women’s participation, and governance. “Think Like a Peacebuilder” blurbs in each chapter draw from the Lawyering Peace course to reinforce key lessons.

To create the book, Robson uploaded concept maps and chapter drafts from the Building Durable Peace project and used ChatGPT to reimagine them as kid-friendly stories. “With the help of ChatGPT, I used those chapters to write new, whimsical stories,” Robson said. The illustrations were also AI-generated and refined with reference photos of Scrappy and Professor Williams to ensure likeness. “Suddenly, Scrappy wasn’t just a cartoon dog, she was our Scrappy, bounding across time to learn how peace is made.”

The team carefully edited the stories and images into a self-publishable format. While originally conceived as a keepsake for their cohort, the students now hope the book will “inspire young readers, and maybe a few adults too, to think differently about what it means to build peace.” Robson reflected, “The entire project became a collaborative tribute: to our cohort, to what we learned, and to the belief that peacebuilding can be made accessible, even for kids.”