A mural from the Virginia Children’s Book Festival, a lone, square robot in a vast, geometric, beautiful and uninhibited landscape, will now greet students returning to school in the fall at Prince Edward County Middle School.

California-based artist Monty Montgomery installed and donated the artwork to the middle school recently.

Montgomery, who has painted several murals that can be seen throughout Farmville, including the colorful triptych mural by the farmers market and a few murals at his alma mater, Longwood University, crafted the mural during the 2017 Virginia Children’s Book Festival.

The mural was based from The Wild Robot children’s book series by Peter Brown. Children, during the festival, got to paint the mural.

During a recent Saturday, Montgomery, his father Steve, Virginia Children’s Book Festival Co-Founder and Executive Director Juanita Giles and Family and Community Engagement Coordinator with Prince Edward County Public Schools, Jennifer Kinne, spent the day at the middle school mounting the 16 by 6 foot mural to the hallway adjacent to the main entrance.

Kinne said the mural will have a lasting impact on the students who will soon be welcomed by it at the beginning of the school year.

“I know the students will be thrilled and amazed when they return and see this larger than life mural in the main hall of their school,” Kinne said in a statement. “This mural represents so much. Literature, of course, a reminder of a book most of our children have read, but also it represents the fact that dreams come true and hard work pays off. Monty is a local, he went to middle school here in Virginia not too far from Farmville and then graduated from Longwood University. He has celebrity status. Our children here in rural Virginia can dream big and achieve success too!”

Montgomery said in a phone interview he enjoyed working with his father, with Kinne and Giles, and was excited about the students seeing it in the fall.

“I think that it found its home there and we had a great time,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery also noted the mural he created at the entrance to the children’s library at Barbara Rose John Farmville-Prince Edward Community Library in May, saying both have found good homes in the Heart of Virginia.

“Two more pieces in Farmville that everybody will hopefully really enjoy,” Montgomery said.