The Natick district was the starting point for the children’s book “Rainbow Allies”

“The article touched me deeply,” Churnin said, adding, “This story needs to be made public.”

And now the time has come: almost eight years later, last week she published a children’s book based on the story of the Rydings’ neighborhood: “Rainbow Allies: The True Story of Kids Who Stood Against Hate,” with illustrations by Izzy Evans.

Churnin contacted the Rydings soon after the article appeared and spent years getting to know them, interviewing the neighborhood kids who rode their bikes, and considering how best to tell the story. About a year ago, Evans’ agent approached her with the project, and she began researching the illustrations.

“It was one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done,” Evans said in a recent Zoom interview with the Globe. “The message is important, but it’s also deeply fulfilling to be able to turn something bad that happened to someone into something hopeful that everyone can enjoy and be inspired by. As an artist, that’s what you hope for.”

While the text itself went through many revisions, Churnin eventually realized she wanted to center the story around the neighborhood. When she did that, it was her “aha moment.”

“It’s not our story,” said Lauri. “It’s the story of our neighbors, the story of love and connection, of what we should be as people.”

And, Cari added, it is also the story of the children themselves: children who “took responsibility and did something powerful,” she said.

Churnin said her goal in writing the book was, among other things, to teach children empowerment and to instill lessons of acceptance early on. She “didn’t want the experience to end on the last page,” she said, so she added pages at the end of the book called “How to Become an LGBTQ+ Ally” as well as downloadable pages for educators.

Churnin, who lives in Texas, has witnessed libraries being forced to pull books from shelves because they contained LGBTQ+ content. She said the book’s message of acceptance has “never been more important.”

“Just as the children brought rainbow flags to everyone in their neighborhood, I hope this book itself becomes a rainbow flag as it gets into the hands of different children and communities on its journey across the country,” Churnin said. “Moreover, I hope it becomes a flag of love, inclusion and kindness. We can all be allies.”

You can reach Emily Wyrwa at [email protected]. Follow her @emilywyrwa.