Why Are So Many Celebs Writing Children's Books?

Comedian David Walliams has now published over 25 children's books and sold over 50 millions worldwide, according to World of David Walliams. He launched his publishing career in 2008 with debut novel "The Boy in the Dress", two years after he shot to fame in "Little Britain". The book "Mr Stink" followed in 2009, followed by "Billionaire Boy" in 2010 and, perhaps his most famous book, "Gangsta Granny" in 2011, which went straight to number 1 in the children's book charts and is still his most popular story. Globally his books have been translated into 25 different languages with many of his stories being made into TV films.

BBC Radio One DJ Greg James released the first in his series of Kid Normal books back in July 2017. Written together with newsreader Chris Smith, Kid Normal is now a six book series about a normal boy who lives in a world of super heroes with no powers of his own. The first book was a huge success, selling over 100,000 copies and making it the biggest selling children's debut of the year. Since then, the series has been taking the children's book market by storm, with five follow-up novels released in 19 languages.

Releasing "The Bench" in 2021, Markle's first kid's book is a picture book that looks at the relationship between a father and son, and touches on the many ways that love can be expressed in a family. Forbes magazine reported that the book deal earned the mum-of-two an advance of £500,000.

Having found success in the band McFly, Tom Fletcher has also become one of the UK's best-selling children's authors. His story writing success began in 2016 with "The Christmasaurus" – a novel for young readers that combines Fletcher's two favourite things: Christmas and dinosaurs.

Since then, he has found huge success with his "Dinosaur That Pooped" series, written with bandmate Dougie Poynter, containing nine books and having sold over a million copies.

Fletcher also published novel "The Creakers", a number one bestseller, and most recently became the author of the In Your Book series, with stories including "There's a Monster in Your Book", "There's an Elf in Your Book", and "There's a Dragon in Your Book". And top it off, Fletcher joined forces with his wife and "I'm a Celeb" winner Giovanna Fletcher, to release "Eve of Man", the first in a young adult trilogy of books.

Fletcher, dad of three boys, has seen his books translated into 32 languages.

You might not image Magic Mike being the sort of guy to pen a children's story, but actor Channing Tatum has had huge success with his Sparkella series. First published in 2022 with "The One and Only Sparkella", this year Tatum published his follow-up, "The One and Only Sparkella and the Big Lie".

The books were both inspired by his daughter Everly, nine, whom he shares with ex, Jenna Dewan, and says her stories are too good not to write down. The success of the stories has led to the commission of a Sparkella live-action movie and rumours of a Sparkella animated TV series.

Since launching her podcast "Happy Place" in 2017, Fearne Cotton has been open about mental health and how to find happiness in the every day. In 2022, she launched "Happy From Head to Toe", a book for kids to explain the relationship between mind and body, with expert tips and celebrity advice. Prior to this, she'd released "Yoga Babies" and "Hungry Babies", educational picture books for kids. Using her parental experience (she's a mum of two and a stepmum of two), Cotton has carved out a career in helping adults and kids navigate the ups and downs of life.

TV presenter Dermot O'Leary made the leap from broadcasting to writing back in 2017 and has since made a name for himself with the Toto the Ninja Cat series. Inspired by his own pet cats, he has released five in the series and, in 2023, released "Wings of Glory".

"Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen", released in 2023, is aimed at teenagers and tells the store of a 13-year-old girl who suddenly finds herself orphaned She's sent to Bloodstone Island, a school founded by Queen Elizabeth I for extraordinary teens and endangered species. Seven years in the making, the Spice Girl told POPSUGAR: "'Rosie' is about finding the courage you never knew you had. Sometimes we need to find our power, we need to borrow each other's confidence to stand up to people or to situations."

The queen of Christmas tops the charts every year with her famous festive song, so it's unsurprising she stuck with the Christmas theme when it came to penning a children's book. Mariah Carey's first children's book, "The Christmas Princess", was published in 2022 and follows the story of "Little Mariah" who uses her voice to spread the Christmas spirit to those around her.

Carey said, via Billboard, "Little Mariah represents my inner child believing in her own vision, she represents all children, especially those who feel like outsiders or 'others', striving to believe in themselves." A mum-of-two herself, Carey hasn't yet announced plans for another installment, but we'll be keeping an eye out.

It was one of the catchiest songs ever released, so it made sense when Pharrell Williams turned his "Happy" lyrics into a book for children in 2015. The dad-of-four's book combines the lyrics to his song (known to many kids after it became the soundtrack to the Despicable Me films) with illustrations of children celebrating what it means to be happy. William's said the book was inspired by his son, Rocket.