You can’t escape children’s books by A-list actors – but I’m happy to read them to my kids
In recent years it seems that more and more celebrities are writing books for kids – with a glut of new releases coming soon – but, wonders Charlotte Cripps, do they aim at something deeper or are they just vanity projects?
You know their name. You know their movies. But would you buy their children’s books? Elizabeth Olsen is the latest A-list actor to pen a bestseller for the younger generation. She is far better known for playing Wanda Maximoff in WandaVision and the Marvel Cinematic Universe than as a children’s author but her debut children’s book Hattie Harmony: Worry Detective is an instant New York Times bestseller this summer. Her child-friendly guide to processing anxiety, for four-to-eight-year-olds, was a team effort written with her musician husband Robbie Arnett.
“It all starts with kids,” Olsen tells me. “In early 2020, when the world was going into lockdown, we had a lot of conversations about culture and how to create something positive. Robbie was writing kid’s books, so we decided to collaborate, and Hattie was born. Having a character-driven story that addresses some of our worries felt timely but also timeless.”
The book centres on a worry-solving cat Hattie, who helps her animal friends with practical tools for coping on their first day of school, such as mindful yoga and meditation – activities that Olsen finds invaluable when she feels anxious.
But when Hattie’s own fears surface, will she overcome them? “Brave people don’t always feel brave inside,” Hattie whispered. “I feel scared.”
“Some of our earliest memories are looking at picture books, the art, the words,” says Olsen’s co-writing husband, Arnett. “It’s a medium that inspires and connects us to each other – family, friends, teachers, caregivers. We value the integrity and the craftsmanship that goes into picture books and would love to continue writing more. Hattie two coming 2023!”
This is just one in a long line of new children’s books by A-list actors to hit bookshelves – many with positive messages. We’ve had Rebel Wilson’s Bella the Brave and Stephen Mangan’s The Fart That Changed The World. While the British TV presenting duo Ant and Dec (Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly) might not be movie stars, their just-out debut Propa Happy is “a fun-filled guide to feeling good for children” with sections on “The Power of Gratitude” and “The Power of Self-care”.
Jimmy Fallon and Jennifer Lopez are bringing out Con Pollo: A Bilingual Playtime Adventure in October, a picture book about a friendly little chicken, that will teach young readers to speak basic Spanish. While the Magic Mike actor Channing Tatum’s The One and Only Sparkella Makes a Plan – which came out in May – follows on from the success of his New York Times bestselling debut The One and Only Sparkella in 2021. It encourages children to embrace their individuality and is being turned into a live-action movie.
Other high-profile soon-to-be-released titles include the Big Little Lies and The Morning Show star Reese Witherspoon’s Busy Betty in October – it’s her debut children’s book. The clever and larger-than-life heroine encourages young readers “especially little girls, to be creative, curious, and explore their entrepreneurial spirit,” according to Witherspoon in an interview in People magazine.
Isla Fisher – the star of films including Wedding Crashers and The Great Gatsby – is bringing out Mazy the Movie Star in September. Her debut picture book set in “Hollywoof” – a version of Tinseltown populated entirely by dogs – is drop-dead funny with a super positive message: always be true to yourself. She’s already written the Marge in Charge series – about a zany rule-bending babysitter with rainbow hair that was first published in 2016.
I grew up on CS Lewis and Roald Dahl – as well as Beatrix Potter books. There wasn’t a celebrity in sight. But now when I scour the bookshelves or online for new books for my children, it’s a different world. I’m faced with more and more titles by A-list actors. Why are so many of them writing children’s books – and are any of them more than a vanity project? Is it just a savvy way for them to stay relevant, get a younger fanbase and add another source of income? Or do they have a genuine desire to make a difference? And, is it unfair that celebrity authors nab a publishing deal more easily than other ordinary writers?
I decided to investigate – it’s been on my mind for a while. While I will never get bored of the juggernauts in the children’s book world like Julia Donaldson, whose books are a staple in my children’s lives, it’s always handy to find some new crackers to read to the kids at night. I noticed a deluge of A-list authors, so I decided to give a few a read. I was blown away: I found them hard-hitting and full of emotional intelligence.
Tatum’s Sparkella character is inspired by his nine-year-old daughter, Evie, and father and daughter relationships – it’s powerful. But he claimed in an interview: “I really never intended to write a children’s book or write a book ever in general. If you ask my English teacher, any one of them in my entire school career, they would probably tell you that I was the last person that they ever thought would write anything. And then this just sort of fell in my lap.”
Is there any snobbery about A-list celebrities turning into authors? Florentyna Martin, Head of Children’s books at Waterstones, hopes not.
“The important thing is that children are reading – and enjoying reading,” she says. “There’s a lot of chatter about celebrity authors but a well-rounded bookshop will have everything in balance. There will be something for everybody: celebrity authors, debut talent we’ve chosen to champion, as well as the well-established children’s authors and illustrators.”
While people do buy children’s books by A-list actors just because they are fans of their films and TV shows, Martin adds that they still need to be well-written.
“There will be an element of readers being star struck by a title by an A-list actor – but it has to hold up on its own.”
At Waterstones big selling celebrity authors also include Ben Miller, Marcus Rashford, Tom Fletcher, Joe Wicks, Fearne Cotton – and of course, David Walliams.
The attraction for celebrities to write children’s books has perhaps been driven by the mind-boggling success of Walliams’s multi-million bestselling funny books. The Boy in The Dress came out in 2008 and has been followed by tons more, including 2010’s Billionaire Boy and 2021’s Gangsta Granny – many are adapted for TV in which he stars. Walliams’s new 2022 titles include The World’s Worst Pets, Megamonster, and a picture book Marmalade: The Orange Panda – he has a forthcoming new title Spaceboy due out in September.
The CEO of BookTrust, Diana Gerald, says all books are a good thing – whoever writes them.
“There’s never been a more urgent time for us to encourage a new generation of children on their reading journeys. Access to and an awareness of a diversity of great books is essential to making this happen.
“From babies, through to children in their early teens, reading has a profound and lifelong positive impact on children’s lives, affecting their health and wellbeing, creativity and educational outcomes. Every year, through a range of national and local partnerships, BookTrust supports millions of children through the provision of books and resources.
“Central to delivering our mission is the curation and distribution of high-quality books that engage, excite and connect with families. Alongside this, we help families discover brilliant books that their children will love through our Great Books Guide, booklists and our online book finder – which includes some books by celebrity authors.”
However, not everybody in the industry is gushing about celebrity authors. Madame Doubtfire author Anne Fine – the former Children’s Laureate – whose children’s books include the Killer Cat series and most recently, Aftershocks, is not a fan of celebrities writing children’s literature.
“It is really quite astonishing how many celebrities of all sorts think they can write a children’s book. You don’t tend to see them assuming they can treat children’s illnesses, or run children’s nurseries, or design children’s toys, quite so blithely.”
It’s not a new phenomenon. Madonna published her first picture book about friendship titled The English Roses in 2003. She’s written several others including 2005’s Lotsa de Casha – the moral of the tale is that money can’t buy happiness. Paul McCartney has written a few including 2021’s Grandude’s Green Submarine, an action-packed undersea adventure.
In Natalie Portman’s 2020 book Fables, she retells three classic stories – The Tortoise and the Hare, The Three Little Pigs and Country Mouse and City Mouse – and gives them a contemporary twist. Jamie Lee Curtis has penned 13 children’s books – she wrote 2018’s Me, Myselfie and I: A Cautionary Tale in just two hours after a comment on Instagram inspired her.
Whoopi Goldberg broke into kid’s writing with her Sugar Plum Ballerina series first published in 2008. The Office’s Ricky Gervais wrote the first in his Flanimals series in 2005 about inadequate fictional animals including an “Underbelnge”: a grey, blobby Flanimal that can’t move from where it was born due to having extremely strong suction caps.
Julianne Moore’s laugh-out-loud 2008 debut, Freckled Faced Strawberry, helps children celebrate individuality. She pays homage to mums from different countries in 2013’s My Mum Is a Foreigner, but Not to Me. While the Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o’s touching picture book Sulwe in 2019 about colourism, self-esteem, and learning that beauty comes from within is being made into an animated Netflix film.
It seems that writing children’s books has become an increasingly popular project for the stars in the last few years. Personally, I think it’s a good thing. I’ll definitely be reading my kid’s books by A-list actors – they are less scary than the ones I read as a child like Fantastic Mr Fox. Olsen’s Hattie Harmony: Worry Detective is a must-read for my daughter who is starting her first day of school in September as I discovered when I read it.
“Hattie, it’s Pearl Peppercorn. I’m terribly worried about my first day of school,” read the book. “I have nervous butterflies flying all around my belly. What if no one plays with me at recess? What if I don’t make any new friends?” How can a child not relate to that? Even better – they can also learn to breathe deeply to let out the stress. I might be a fan of Olsen’s acting but now I’m also a fan of her writing.
‘Hattie Harmony: Worry Detective’ is out now
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