Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Celebrity Children's Books

Chris Bridges has written a very funny article (for the Daytona Beach News-Journal) on the plethora of celebrity-penned titles in the children's section this season.

According to Bridges, "This month Sir Paul McCartney's High in the Clouds elevated him to the ranks of
  • Madonna, Spike Lee, Billy Crystal, Will Smith, Jerry Seinfeld, John Travolta, Gloria Estefan, Maria Shriver, Henry Winkler, Shaquille O'Neal, Lynne Cheney, Sarah Ferguson, Martha Stewart, LeAnn Rimes, Bob Dylan, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Harvey Fierstein, Della Reese, Michael Bolton, Debbie Allen, Cindy Crawford, Keith Hernandez, Katie Couric, Dom Delouise, Bill Cosby, Jimmy Carter, Larry King, LL Cool J, Jane Seymour, Carly Simon, Jay Leno, Whoopi Goldberg, Carson Kressley, Jimmy Fallon, Britney Spears, Jimmy Buffet, Jesse Ventura, and His Royal Highness Prince Charles in the hearts of starry-eyed parents everywhere.

Good grief! Bridges then suggests some titles of his own for celebrity slackers. My favorites are the following two ideas for Tom Cruise and Ashlee Simpson:

  • Thomas the Tranq Engine by Tom Cruise. After escaping from a den of wicked psychotherapists and their evil drug therapies, a troubled young train finds solace on a secret island where anyone is welcomed no matter how different or wealthy they are.
  • Bright, Shiny! by Ashlee Simpson (with Jonathan McIntyre, Elizabeth Wee, Brian Griggs, Alexander Hough, and Bernice Lynn Partridge). A colorful, easy-to-flip, 6-page board book that your child will love reading to you.

If you need a lift this Wednesday, give the article a read.