Reese Witherspoon is a mother, wife, actress, media mogul, producer, business owner, and now a children’s book author as well. The Academy Award-winning star will release her first children’s book, Busy Betty, on October 4. Witherspoon will celebrate the release of the book with a family-friendly release party on October 7 at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
“Since the moment I had a daughter of my own, I have been searching for characters whose self-expression is front and center and holistically portrays the experience of being a young girl,” Witherspoon says of the book (via The Tennessean). “I hope Betty’s curiosity, enthusiasm and sense of adventure teaches our girls that not only can they do anything they set their minds to, but … anything is possible.”
Witherspoon, who grew up in Nashville, previously wrote Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits, released in 2018. But ever since Witherspoon’s daughter Ava (with her former husband, Ryan Phillippe) was born, Witherspoon has been dreaming of creating what became Busy Betty.
“I’ve been thinking about creating a children’s book with realistic young female characters since I had my daughter,” Witherspoon tells People. “When I was a kid, I had a busy brain with a million ideas and more energy than most adults could manage so, Betty is really based on adventures from my childhood.”
Busy Betty tells the story of a precocious little girl, Betty, who needs to give her dog, Frank, a bath before her friend Mae arrives, a task that becomes much harder than Betty anticipated.
“And just when everything seems impossible, with Mae’s help, Betty learns she can accomplish anything with perseverance, teamwork, and one great idea,” reads the book description. The character of Betty has a lot of similarties to who Witherspoon was as a child.
“This book was born out of my own upbringing,” Witherspoon says. “I was always singing, dancing and exploring.”
Witherspoon will be joined by a special guest at her TPAC release party for Busy Betty, which includes a 45-minute conversation about the new book. A copy of Busy Betty is included with the price of admission. Tickets for the Busy Betty release party are available here.