Hilary Duff Announces First Children’s Book, ‘My Little Brave Girl’
Did you know that Hilary Duff is not just a singer and actress, but also an author? Ten years ago, she kicked off her YA trilogy with Elixir; that was followed by Devoted in 2011 and True in 2013. (She had a co-writer on all three books, Elise Allen.) Now, after years away from the book world, Hilary is back with a new kind of read: a children’s book. She just announced her new book, My Brave Little Girl, which she wrote in part because of her own two-year-old daughter, Banks.
In a statement, Hilary said:
I wrote this story to encourage both mothers and daughters to reach higher, dream bigger, and approach the world with their hearts wide open.
My Little Brave Girl is written by Hilary Duff and illustrated by Kelsey Garrity-Riley. It’s scheduled for publication via Random House Books for Young Readers on March 23, 2021. And that’s not all: Hilary also plans to release a second picture book; it remains untitled for now.
Read the description for My Little Brave Girl below:
The world is big, my little brave girl.
It’s all here for you.
A poetic text encourages girls to reach higher, dream bigger, and approach the world with their hearts wide open. This love letter to little girls was inspired by Hilary Duff’s own experience as a mother as she considered all the ways her daughter had to be brave even as an infant. With lush illustrations and an empowering message, My Little Brave Girl is the perfect gift for baby showers, birthdays, Mother’s Day, graduation, and any time a girl—or woman—is embarking on a new chapter of her life!
Watch a video of Hilary announcing My Little Brave Girl below:
In a new interview with PEOPLE, Hilary revealed her inspiration behind writing her first picture book:
I remember coming home from work around midnight, just in time for my daughter’s dream feed. I hadn’t smelled her all day and it was the first week of a long four months of returning to work. Tired and emotional, I held my daughter and remembered the many ways I watched my mother be brave and was encouraged to do the same. I sat there in a well of emotion, realizing I was close to the end of my breastfeeding journey with my daughter and this was just one of the many ways I was going to watch her grow into a little brave girl.
This is when she had the burst of inspiration to write a book: “[I] literally wrote it in a note on my phone, having no clue that it would turn into something that would be in the hands of families, sharing the same bittersweet experience.”
Hilary continued:
I’m so grateful for my publishers who believed in my simple words, sparked by an authentically emotional night sitting in my cozy Brooklyn apartment. I had a really strong vision of the brave girls and their adventures for this book and I can’t quite put into words how Kelsey Garrity-Riley brought the book to life the way she did with her tender and spirited illustrations.
I hope this book makes a tough night for a parent seem a little less alone and inspires girls to get up, stand up, be loud and reach as high as they can at any age.
You can read Hilary’s full interview with PEOPLE here.
Hilary’s Personal Life
Following a 7-month engagement, Hilary Duff and Matthew Koma got married on December 22, 2019. Next month, their daughter Banks will celebrate her second birthday. Following eight-year-old son Luca, born during her prior marriage to Mike Comrie, Banks is Hilary’s second child.
Though we first heard of Hilary and Matthew as a couple in late 2017, they previously worked together on her last album, 2015’s Breathe In. Breathe Out. Matthew wrote “Confetti,” “Arms Around A Memory,” and the album’s title track, with producing credits on all three.
More Music?
In terms of music, the last five years since Breathe In. Breathe Out. have been quiet. Hilary hasn’t confirmed any concrete music plans, though she has written and recorded here and there. In a 2018 Build interview with the cast of Younger, the interviewer asked about Hilary’s cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies,” which she recorded for Younger, and any upcoming music plans she may have. She had no real plans for music outside of the show at the time, “which is so sad.” She continued:
The show keeps me so busy – when am I going to tour? How am I going to make a record? I do have a musician boyfriend who’s writing songs all the time, and I’m like, “I want that one!” And he’s like, “You’re not making a record right now, so… no, that’s not for you.” But [music] is just a part of my life.
With Hilary’s husband being such a great musician, songwriter, and producer, we’re hoping his musical ambitions will rub off on Hilary… That they recently released a cover of Third Eye Blind’s “Never Let You Go” seems like a promising start! Hopefully it’ll lead to more from Hilary. For now, we’ll just have to wait until she gets the itch to release all this music she’s written.
Catch up on all we do know about her anticipated next album, expected sometime in the 2020s. Early last year, several leftovers from Hilary’s 2012-2015 music sessions leaked. That will hold fans over until Hilary releases another album.
Celebrities & Children’s Books
Hilary Duff isn’t the first actress or musician to write children’s books! Kelly Clarkson has released two children’s books so far: River Rose And The Magical Lullaby in 2016 and River Rose and the Magical Christmas in 2017. Actress Lupita Nyong’o released Sulwe last year; that book came with a song she co-wrote with K’naan. Incidentally, K’naan also has a children’s book: When I Get Older: The Story Behind “Wavin’ Flag,” released in 2012. Even punk band Green Day has dipped their toes in the picture book world: Their book Last Of The American Girls comes out this November.
My Little Brave Girl
Whether you have little kids or are simply young at heart, My Little Brave Girl sounds like a sweet addition to any library. You can pre-order it now ahead of its March 2021 release. As always, keep checking back here for all the latest Hilary Duff news.
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