Pete Mason, the Upstate New York-based educator and creator of the popular PhanArt shows, has authored the first children’s book inspired by the music of Widespread Panic. The Widespread Alphabet will help children learn their letters through drawings illustrated by Pittsburgh-based artist Mark Serlo, with each page evoking a visual Widespread Panic connection, along with easy-to-read text for kids and their grownups. A Kickstarter campaign to help publish the book this fall has also been launched.

“The lyrics of Widespread Panic lend themselves to incredible imagery thanks to the story telling nature of many of the band’s songs,” Mason, who is also the publisher of NYS Music, said in statement along with the book’s announcement. “Mark Serlo captures the spirit of each song vividly, and working with him on this book was a fantastic collaboration that has produced a book I hope Widespread Panic fans will enjoy for years to come.”  

The Widespread Alphabet will also include tributes to Georgia, a notable fan or two and characters from Panic’s extensive catalog. An announcement about the book explains, “Having just published his fourth children’s book (Counting Down the Number Line, 2020), Mason began work on The Widespread Alphabet, bringing artist Mark Serlo who signed on in 2025 to create the illustrations for each page. For this book, Mark switched styles, considering artwork that was in an approachable style for children, a variation from Mark’s poster art.”

In the same statement, the illustrator added, “In teaching children to paint in my studio each Saturday morning, I’ve found that being loose and not adhering to strict rules appeals to them more, while I do teach some strict rules of drawing, still allowing them some loose colorful sloppy time to increase their imagination. We are appealing to parents with kids that are even younger as a rule with an alphabet book, projecting a mantra of ‘stay loose and allow imagination to fill in the rest.’”

Mason elaborated: “My love of Widespread Panic’s music and the band’s place in my life led me to creating a book I am truly proud of and grateful for the work that has been put in over the past year by Mark to bring these pages to life. Together, we hope this book will be a must have item on every bookshelf for Widespread Panic fans of all ages, and bring the joy-filled music of the band to the children as they learn the ABCs.”

Widespread Panic recently closed their annual three-night run at Morrison, Colo.’s Red Rocks. As previously reported, the group were inducted to the Colorado Music Hall of Fame during Saturday’s performance. The band also revived a few songs throughout the record-setting run. On Friday, they brought back “Tickle the Truth” for the first time since December 30, 2023, and on Sunday, they performed “Heroes” for the first time since April 15, 2023. They also offered a rare second encore segment, covering Tom Waits’ “Goin’ Out West” as a standalone offering–a likely nod to the fact they are about to embark on their first extended bus tour through the West Coast in almost a decade. They will perform next at the Snow King Amphitheatre in Jackson, WY on July 5.