Meet the Creators
Two Lifelong Friends and One Very Important Word
Dave Scott and Julie Runyan Hardy have been friends for more than 40 years. Over all those years, their conversations have rarely traveled in a straight line.
Both understand what it feels like when one idea suddenly leads to another. A single word, memory, or observation can send the conversation racing toward a completely different subject, one that may seem unrelated at first, but usually connects in a surprising way.
Whenever that happened, one of them would simply say:
“Squirrel.”
It was their friendly signal that the conversation was about to make an unexpected turn.
Before long, those turns had a name of their own:
“The Squirrel Bus.”
Saying “time to get on the Squirrel Bus” meant they were leaving the expected route and following a new idea to see where it led.
That long-running joke eventually became something bigger: a welcoming world of stories, songs, characters, learning, laughter, and imagination.
The two of them
Two Different Roads Coming Together
Julie Runyan Hardy
Teacher and Certified American Sign Language Interpreter
Julie Runyan Hardy brings years of classroom experience, professional insight as a certified American Sign Language interpreter, and a deep love for helping children feel supported, capable, understood, and included.
Her work with students receiving Response to Intervention support gives her firsthand insight into the different ways children learn, communicate, build confidence, and find their place in a classroom.
Julie helps keep the world of Acorn Grove grounded in the real feelings, communication needs, questions, challenges, and victories children experience every day.
Dave Scott
Dave is a musician, songwriter, digital marketing consultant, and founder of SAMG Inc. His career has centered on turning ideas into stories, brands, systems, music, and experiences that connect with people.
He brings the storytelling, music, creative direction, and entrepreneurial vision that help the SquirrelBus travel beyond a single book or song.
Why it matters
Why the SquirrelBus Matters to Us
The SquirrelBus grew from the way Dave and Julie experience ideas: curious, connected, imaginative, and sometimes wonderfully unexpected.
It is a place where taking a different route is not treated as a problem. It can be the beginning of a discovery.
Their hope is that children who climb aboard will find familiar friends, kind grown-ups, gentle adventures, plenty of laughter, and room to experience the world in their own way.