{"id":255139,"date":"2025-07-11T03:20:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T03:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/255139\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T03:20:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T03:20:09","slug":"stars-on-the-bookshelf-when-celebrities-write-for-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/255139\/","title":{"rendered":"Stars on the\u00a0bookshelf: when celebrities write for children"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a chilly Sunday evening in January, I drove to Crossword at Mumbai\u2019s Kemp\u2019s Corner with my children to meet David Walliams. The celebrated British children\u2019s author and comedian was visiting as a part of his multi-city India book tour, and the bookstore had announced a meet-and-greet. I expected the whole affair to be a quick one \u2014 after all, how many people would want to meet Walliams in India?<\/p>\n

I could not have been more wrong.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The large bookstore was filled with hundreds of children and parents buying books to sign, and queuing up to meet Walliams. He greeted them, signed books, posed for photographs, and encouraged them to continue reading.<\/p>\n

After all, the reason he writes books, he says, is to raise readers \u2014 a line that clearly resonated with parents eager to support anything that gets their child reading. The response Walliams got made me wonder \u2014 is this what a celebrity can do for the world of children\u2019s literature?<\/p>\n

Does fame guarantee sales?<\/p>\n

Celebrities-turned-authors are an all-too-familiar phenomenon in the U.K. and the U.S. From Meghan Markle to Jennifer Aniston, Natalie Portman to Jamie Oliver \u2014 celebrities have made it to bestseller lists with their children\u2019s books. These books are conveniently available as both hardcovers and ebooks. The topics they write about are as varied as their backgrounds. Actress and entrepreneur Reese Witherspoon wrote the\u00a0Busy Betty\u00a0series in 2022, modelling the heroine on a childhood version of herself. Tennis superstar and philanthropist Serena Williams\u2019\u00a0The Adventures of Qai Qai, in which a little girl learns to believe in herself with the help of a doll, is inspired by her experiences with her daughter.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"Tennis<\/p>\n

\n

Tennis star Serena Williams with her daughter
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n

Actress Gabrielle Union wrote\u00a0Welcome to the Party\u00a0to celebrate babies becoming a part of families through surrogacy and adoption. She also collaborated with her husband, basketball star Dwayne Wade, on\u00a0Shady Baby\u00a0\u2014 a book about standing up to bullies \u2014 inspired by their daughter Kaavia.\u00a0Friends\u00a0star Aniston recently released a picture book,\u00a0Clydeo Takes a Bite Out of Life,\u00a0about self-discovery and self-confidence, inspired by her pet dog Clyde.<\/p>\n

\"Friends\u00a0star<\/p>\n

Friends\u00a0star Jennifer Aniston promotes her book, Clydeo Takes a Bite Out of Life,\u00a0on Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s talk show.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Disney\n <\/p>\n

Books by celebrities garner attention, but do they guarantee sales? Sohini Mitra, who heads Penguin Random House India\u2019s Children and Young Adult division, says, \u201cCelebrity books don\u2019t guarantee high sales, as success still depends on the quality of the content and audience engagement. However, a celebrity author can boost the book\u2019s visibility, help it reach a broader audience, create buzz, and generate media attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebrity-authored books aren\u2019t always a success. In 2021, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, released\u00a0The Bench, a love poem for new fathers, which was slammed by critics and parents alike.\u00a0The New Statesman\u00a0said, \u201cIt was mind-boggling how bad the book is,\u201d while others called it a \u201cliterary atrocity\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Copies<\/p>\n

\n

Copies of Meghan Markle\u2019s book The Bench on display in Waterstones bookstore in London.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n

The Indian scene<\/p>\n

In India, a few celebrities have turned authors. Actress Soha Ali Khan and her husband, actor Kunal Khemmu, wrote\u00a0Inni and Bobo, a series about a little girl and her dog. Actress and entrepreneur Alia Bhatt wrote\u00a0Ed Finds a Home, a picture book, launched as an extension of her children\u2019s clothing line, Ed-a-Mamma. The book was illustrated by the award-winning Tanvi Bhat who admits, \u201cThe exposure it got because of the involvement of Alia Bhatt and her brand was unmatched.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Actor<\/p>\n

\n

Actor Soha Ali Khan reads from her book,\u00a0Inni and Bobo, during the Peek A Book Children\u2019s Literature Festival in Mumbai, 2024.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n

One cannot deny that visibility has its perks.\u00a0Grandma\u2019s Bag of Stories, authored by Sudha Murty, was the best-selling children\u2019s book in India, with 97,000 copies worth more than \u20b918 million sold by 2021.<\/p>\n

\"Author<\/p>\n

\n

Author Sudha Murty poses with children at the launch of her book, Grandma\u2019s Bag of Stories, in Bengaluru, 2012.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n K. Murali Kumar\n <\/p>\n

Normalising ghost writing<\/p>\n

But does the success of a few titles justify the broader industry trend of commissioning celebrity authors? Lubaina Bandukwala, children\u2019s author and curator of literature festivals such as Peekabook, says, \u201cCelebrities usually have time only for their books. Seldom have I seen them use the platform to promote reading. It is a question of mindset \u2014 children\u2019s authors and those working in the children\u2019s literature space are more concerned about wanting kids to read, exposing them to newer themes, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

News and commentary platform\u00a0The Conversation\u00a0published an article by senior lecturer and author Penni Russon, who critiques how celebrity-authored books often undermine the craft. She highlights the \u201cderivative nature\u201d of such books, which rely on tired tropes and rarely offer something original to children.<\/p>\n

Ashwitha Jaykumar, freelance editor and author of\u00a0The Book of Emperors: An Illustrated History of the Mughals, finds the trend of celebrity authors disheartening. \u201cThe worst outcome of publishers commissioning celebrity authors is that they normalise ghost writing or mediocre writing. If all it takes to be published is a pre-existing fan base, then what message does it send to people like us who spend years honing our craft? It\u2019s like saying the quality of your writing doesn\u2019t matter as much as the number of Instagram followers you have,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

But publishers continue to see value in commissioning celebrities to write children\u2019s books. Himanshu Giri, CEO, Pratham Books, explains, \u201cWhen influential voices from outside the traditional children\u2019s publishing space \u2014 whether economists like Esther Duflo, athletes, or artists \u2014 enter this world, they bring insight, purpose, and passion. Duflo, for instance, offers an economist\u2019s perspective on fairness, poverty, and inclusion, ideas that can be conveyed to children through age-appropriate storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Poor<\/p>\n

Poor Economics for Kids by Esther Duflo and Cheyenne Olivier.\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The presence of a known name increases a book\u2019s discoverability and uplifts everyone connected to the project, from illustrators to publishers, especially in the \u2018independent\u2019 space.<\/p>\n

As Giri puts it: \u201cWhen respected and inspiring voices write for children, they lend credibility to the idea that children\u2019s books are serious, transformative work, drawing in new audiences, and shining a light on all those who are working quietly but powerfully to shape young minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, for celebrity authors, the vibrant world of indie bookstores, where passionate readers and curated selections thrive, might still be out of reach.<\/p>\n

Vidya Mani, curator and co-founder of Funky Rainbow, a popular independent bookstore in Bengaluru, says, \u201cWhen people walk into our store, they are keen for us to recommend books that their children will enjoy. We have sold more books by Ashok Rajagopalan, Roopa Pai, Pika Nani, Priya Kuriyan, Rohan Chakravarty, and Asha Nehemiah than by any celebrity author. In our world, it is these authors and illustrators who are the real celebrities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The writer is founder of Mother of Readers, a platform championing Indian children\u2019s literature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a chilly Sunday evening in January, I drove to Crossword at Mumbai\u2019s Kemp\u2019s Corner with my children…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3938],"tags":[3444,98070,77,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-255139","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-celebrity-authors-childrens-books-publishing-quality-debate-jennifer-aniston-alia-bhatt","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114832450042782770","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}