Stars on the bookshelf: when celebrities write for children

On a chilly Sunday evening in January, I drove to Crossword at Mumbai’s Kemp’s Corner with my children to meet David Walliams. The celebrated British children’s 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 — after all, how many people would want to meet Walliams in India?

I could not have been more wrong.

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.

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

Does fame guarantee sales?

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 — celebrities have made it to bestseller lists with their children’s 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 Busy Betty series in 2022, modelling the heroine on a childhood version of herself. Tennis superstar and philanthropist Serena Williams’ The 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.

Tennis star Serena Williams with her daughter
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

Actress Gabrielle Union wrote Welcome to the Party to celebrate babies becoming a part of families through surrogacy and adoption. She also collaborated with her husband, basketball star Dwayne Wade, on Shady Baby — a book about standing up to bullies — inspired by their daughter Kaavia. Friends star Aniston recently released a picture book, Clydeo Takes a Bite Out of Life, about self-discovery and self-confidence, inspired by her pet dog Clyde.

Friends star Jennifer Aniston promotes her book, Clydeo Takes a Bite Out of Life, on Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show.
| Photo Credit:
Disney

Books by celebrities garner attention, but do they guarantee sales? Sohini Mitra, who heads Penguin Random House India’s Children and Young Adult division, says, “Celebrity books don’t guarantee high sales, as success still depends on the quality of the content and audience engagement. However, a celebrity author can boost the book’s visibility, help it reach a broader audience, create buzz, and generate media attention.”

Celebrity-authored books aren’t always a success. In 2021, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, released The Bench, a love poem for new fathers, which was slammed by critics and parents alike. The New Statesman said, “It was mind-boggling how bad the book is,” while others called it a “literary atrocity”.

Copies of Meghan Markle’s book The Bench on display in Waterstones bookstore in London.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

The Indian scene

In India, a few celebrities have turned authors. Actress Soha Ali Khan and her husband, actor Kunal Khemmu, wrote Inni and Bobo, a series about a little girl and her dog. Actress and entrepreneur Alia Bhatt wrote Ed Finds a Home, a picture book, launched as an extension of her children’s clothing line, Ed-a-Mamma. The book was illustrated by the award-winning Tanvi Bhat who admits, “The exposure it got because of the involvement of Alia Bhatt and her brand was unmatched.”

Actor Soha Ali Khan reads from her book, Inni and Bobo, during the Peek A Book Children’s Literature Festival in Mumbai, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

One cannot deny that visibility has its perks. Grandma’s Bag of Stories, authored by Sudha Murty, was the best-selling children’s book in India, with 97,000 copies worth more than ₹18 million sold by 2021.

Author Sudha Murty poses with children at the launch of her book, Grandma’s Bag of Stories, in Bengaluru, 2012.
| Photo Credit:
K. Murali Kumar

Normalising ghost writing

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

News and commentary platform The Conversation published an article by senior lecturer and author Penni Russon, who critiques how celebrity-authored books often undermine the craft. She highlights the “derivative nature” of such books, which rely on tired tropes and rarely offer something original to children.

Ashwitha Jaykumar, freelance editor and author of The Book of Emperors: An Illustrated History of the Mughals, finds the trend of celebrity authors disheartening. “The 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’s like saying the quality of your writing doesn’t matter as much as the number of Instagram followers you have,” she says.

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

Poor Economics for Kids by Esther Duflo and Cheyenne Olivier.

The presence of a known name increases a book’s discoverability and uplifts everyone connected to the project, from illustrators to publishers, especially in the ‘independent’ space.

As Giri puts it: “When respected and inspiring voices write for children, they lend credibility to the idea that children’s 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.”

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

Vidya Mani, curator and co-founder of Funky Rainbow, a popular independent bookstore in Bengaluru, says, “When 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.”

The writer is founder of Mother of Readers, a platform championing Indian children’s literature.