Editorial Note
Frannie the Ant began with an idea inspired by Aesop’s The Grasshopper and the Ant, but the story took a different path.
Frannie is already doing an important job. She simply cannot see its importance yet. Later, the work she has been doing matters in a way she could never have understood at the beginning.
At its heart, the story is also about generations. Every ant in the colony already understands what Frannie is learning because each of them once stood where she stands now. Eventually, it becomes Frannie’s turn to pass that understanding to the next little ant behind her.
The story was first written by hand in 2003 and spent years tucked away before Amy brought Frannie’s world to life with watercolor illustrations.
Today, Frannie the Ant is a gentle book for bedtime, early readers, and short story times, with activities in the back that let children stay engaged with Frannie after the final page. Its quiet center lingers in small, often overlooked moments where courage first begins: a pause before speaking, a choice to try again, a simple act of care.
