FEATURE FRIDAY: Author Stephanie Montgomery on Her Books and Passion for Helping Others

Stephanie Montgomery is a business owner, author, and mom of two. Her book Max & Ollie’s Guide to Baseball was published in 2020—and recently turned into a full baseball-themed lifestyle brand, which includes a boutique at The Painted Tree in Scottsdale. 

Montgomery says she is “inspired by my family, passionate about maternal health, as well as advocating for awareness and resources to combat diaper need.”

Here, she talks about her book, her family, and her passion for helping others.

Tell us about the book Max & Ollie’s Guide to Baseball …

Max & Ollie’s Guide to Baseball is a children’s picture book that teaches kids the basic rules of the game, told through a vibrantly illustrated day at the ballpark for a little boy and his best bud – an Australian Shepherd!

What prompted you to write it?

I grew up loving the game of baseball, and later married a professional baseball player. When I had our first son, I looked for resources to help teach him about the game at a young age. I didn’t find any, and so I decided to create something myself!

Do you have any writing background?

I’ve always loved to read and write. Whether essays, letters or research papers, writing has been an outlet for me for as long as I can remember. My first book, Life Plan? Trash Can: How I Learned to Embrace the Unpredictable (and How You Can, Too) was published in 2018.

How did your kids like the book?

My daughter won’t sit still long enough for me to read it to her, but my son is immensely proud of it and loves reading it. He joined me for a book reading recently and helped me read it to a group of young children—it was special!

You’ve now launched baseball-themed gifts and apparel. Tell us about them …

I’ve always been the creative type, and as my son grew, I began brainstorming ways to continue to create things that could hopefully help kids find some joy via the game of baseball. As he started enjoying puzzles, snuggling with special blankets, and picking out his own clothes, I wanted to create things that I thought he may use (and that we may use as a family!). The line now includes all those things, as well as mugs, notebooks, keychains, and more. My goal remains to bring some happiness to people of all ages via the game of baseball—and every product sold gives back via our family fund, Monty’s Marvels. 

What’s Monty’s Marvels?

After my husband won the World Series with the Chicago Cubs, we realized that we were in a special position to be able to hopefully make a positive impact on the communities that we were placed in thanks to baseball. We developed Monty’s Marvels in 2018 as an attempt to recognize people in each community who were doing amazing things to give back. After I had my son, we asked the Kansas City Royals (who my husband was traded to when my son was about 3 months old, in 2019) for recommendations on local organizations that supported women and children. They introduced us to the Happy Bottoms Diaper Bank, where we were educated on the state of diaper need in our country. Since then, we’ve been focused on partnering with diaper banks around the country in an effort to help them end diaper needs. 

The best thing about being a mom for you is …

Seeing my children grow, accomplish new things, and be kind to others. 

Your favorite places around Scottsdale are …

We are so fortunate to have found our home base in Scottsdale—partially because of the number of great places and great people. It would take me far too long to name all of our favorite restaurants, but from Pitadale to Obon to North Italia, we always know that we can find a good meal nearby. 

Jordan’s Corner has been an inclusive play place we’ve gone to since my son was 2, and The Painted Tree is truly a one-stop shop if you’re looking for a gift for anyone in your life! Add in the parks and kid-friendly places, and you’ve got a city that’s truly hard to beat.

In 5 years, you hope to be …

Continuing to fight for causes that impact women, children, and families as a whole in our country—while also creating new things, making new memories and celebrating the wonderful family that I’ve been blessed with.