Singer, songwriter, mom, and “lunatic country music person” Maren Morris has added another title to her resume: children’s book author. On April 9, 2024, Chronicle Chroma released Addie Ant Goes on an Adventure, the first book from Morris and her best-friend-slash-writing-partner Karina Argow.
Illustrated by Kelly Anne Dalton, the debut picture book follows the eponymous insect, Addie Ant, as she ventures from one garden bed to another on her first solo adventure. Along the way, she learns lessons about being brave, practicing independence, and knowing when to ask for help.
In addition to these timeless themes for young readers, the book reflects the values Morris’ platform has become synonymous with: diversity, friendship, love, and connection.
Argow brings to the mix her background as an educator (she’s a former high school teacher and department chairperson) and impressive green thumb. In fact, it was Argow’s avid gardening, in part, that inspired the friends to write the book.
As Morris explained in an interview with Scary Mommy, the two started discussing the idea during the tour for her Humble Quest album two years ago. Morris had toyed with the idea of writing a children’s book since she reads so many to her 4-year-old son, Hayes.
“That’s kind of how the idea was hatched,” she explains, adding, “Then Karina was like, ‘Oh, by the way, I have all these characters that I’ve come up with in my garden.’ And I was like, ‘Well, that’s half the work.’”
During our interview, we pointed out how much the Scary Mommy team loves Lewis Ladybug, one of the characters who made it into the book.
“Lewis was certainly one of the frontrunners for book one, and I love them so much,” Morris gushes. “They have such great advice, and the outfits and the bedroom alone are just eye candy. But we really had fun hammering out different pop culture references for each character. Lewis is very…”
“Iris Apfel,” Argow says, finishing Morris’ sentence, as best friends do. “When we were thinking about it, we were like, OK, we need the glasses. We need the jewelry, we need the fabulousness.”
For Beatrix Butterfly, the women drew inspiration from another pop culture icon: “Jane Fonda, aerobics era.” (Those legwarmers! That leotard!)
Of course, after reading Addie Ant, kids may very well be begging parents for their own garden. So, we asked Argow, what’s a great place for beginners to start?
“I think my best advice is to do a pizza garden and do oregano, basil, tomatoes,” she shares. “Those are the easiest. And then you can have a big pizza night at the end of the summer!”
Morris’ son Hayes is “obsessed” with Argow’s garden, the singer reveals. “The map of Gemma’s Garden in Addie Ant is kind of a reflection of Karina’s garden,” she says.
On a recent visit to Argow’s garden, Hayes even got to do something extra special.
“As soon as it gets cold in the fall, the bumblebees freeze overnight. Then you can wake them up in the morning by petting them and warming them up. Hayes was over one morning, and we were waking up all the bumblebees,” shares Argow. “Afterwards, I was like, Maybe it wasn’t a great idea to have him playing with the bees (laughs). But he still comes over, and he’s like, ‘Bumblebees, where are the bumblebees? Let’s go wake up the bumblebees.’”
Which, let’s be honest, sounds pretty magical.
Fortunately for all the little budding gardeners out there, this isn’t the last we’ll see of Addie Ant and friends.
“We already finished book two,” Morris tells us. “And Karina has this entire PDF list of characters that we have not met yet. They all already have backstories and context and personalities in her head, so I just love that we have this deep well to go back to.”
The best friends admittedly may even be getting ahead of themselves out of excitement, rattling off future possibilities — an album paired with the book series, a musical for Lewis, an animated series, branded seed packets, and even a mom-and-kids’ clothing line (“I desperately want a little bandana like Cleo has,” gushes Argow).
At the end of the day, though, the friends-turned-collaborators just hope fans love the world they’ve created.
“I’m looking forward to this being the start of many adventures for Addie Ant, who I know will become a beloved children’s character,” says Morris.
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