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Jerry Seinfeld with his wife Jessica Sklar and daughter Sascha.

Posted October 27, 2008 by Tommi Lewis Tilden

For the past several years, writing a kid's book has become de rigueur for celeb parents. In 2002, dad-to-three Jerry Seinfeld released Halloween centering on a beady-eyed boy who just wants to "get candy." The following year Madonna penned The English Roses -- about an 11-year-old's friendships and rivalries -- for daughter Lourdes. Even famous grandpas joined the act: In 2004 Billy Crystal wrote I Already Know I Love You while daughter Jennifer was pregnant with his first grandchild.

And, while these celebrity efforts may never replace classics like my personal favorites -- Robert Munsch's Love You Forever, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, and the first book my then-6-year-old son Robert read to me, Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham -- or join Maurice Sendak, Lois Lowry, Beatrix Potter, and Eric Carle on any all-time classic kids' book lists, there have been some inspired best-sellers.

In 1998, Jamie Lee Curtis' Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods that Make My Day enjoyed nine weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Since then, the critically acclaimed actress/author produced eight more books including Is there Really a Human Race? and this year's Big Words for Little People.

"[Human Race] was born because my little boy, Tommy, came home from school one day with tears in his eyes and said, 'Is there really a human race?' The subtext of what he was saying was, 'Why didn't you tell me I'm just here to perform?' " Curtis told More magazine.

"Tommy is a child with a profound learning difference," Curtis continued. "He's in a special school for kids who all learn differently. I think it was clear that he couldn't do the monkey dance like everybody else, and he was starting to feel, 'What's wrong with me?' He'd gotten a message that it was a race, and he was losing. I said, 'It's not a race, Tommy. You misunderstood, sweetheart. That's just an expression people use.' "

Curtis wrote Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born for both her adopted kids; the book shares the experience from a child's perspective. "The fact that the book has been so embraced by the adoption community has been a bonus that I did not expect," Curtis writes on her website.

Actor John Lithgow is another prolific and respected children's book author with twelve titles, including the New York Times best sellers Micawber, Marsupial Sue, The Remarkable Farkle McBride, and Carnival of the Animals.

When Lithgow was asked to give the keynote speech at Harvard's 2005 commencement, he wrote Mahalia Mouse Goes to College and dedicated it to the graduates. "I thought, 'Well, I'm an actor, I better entertain them and finish big,' " Lithgow told anchor Harry Smith on The Early Show. Mahalia is a tale about a mouse that lives beneath an old Harvard dorm, becomes a full-time student and eventually earns a degree in human psychology.

"All my books [are] intended to give kids a good time," Lithgow, who has three grown kids, explained. "But they all have an agenda. They are there to get them thinking about the arts, and education, and the use of language. I don't shy away from words like imprudence. My ideal is for a child to listen to a story read by a parent and to say, 'Mom, what does peregrination mean?' and for the mom to actually not know."
 
One mom sure to know that "peregrination" means "journey" is Spice Girl Geri Halliwell -- she was recently named Britain's best-selling author for her series about 9-year-old Ugenia Lavender. Halliwell, who started writing her wildly popular books four years ago, gave birth to her first child, daughter Bluebell Madonna in 2006.

Other music artists-cum-authors rappers LL Cool J (James Todd Smith) and Doug E. Fresh collaborated with Scholastic Inc.'s imprint HipKidHop -- books accompanied by music CDs. In And the Winner Is, LL Cool J writes about a basketball player's wins and losses, tackling lessons in sportsmanship. "I hope it teaches [young readers] to be confident but not arrogant, and at the same time when they lose, not to be down on themselves either, know that each step in life is just a step that leads to the next step," author Cool J said in a Scholastic.com interview. "And I hope that it raises their self-esteem to a level that is healthy.

More star-authored children's books to check out:

Tea for Ruby by Sarah Ferguson: The Duchess of York, known for her Little Red series, wrote her first kids' book in 1989 called Budgie the Little Helicopter. In Fergie's latest Tea for Ruby, an accident-prone young girl needs to polish her manners in time for tea with the queen.

Friends of a Feather by Bill Cosby: In this story of friendship and fearlessness, the Cos writes about an odd flock of birds that perform dangerous flying feats.

What's Happening to Grandpa? by Maria Shriver: The perfect book to share with a child dealing with a loved one who has Alzheimer's Disease or memory loss.

Just The Two of Us by Will Smith: From his hit single, the irrepressible Smith writes about a father and son's relationship from birth to manhood.

Propeller-One-Way Night Coach by John Travolta: What else would you expect from this celeb who is obsessed with flying? Travolta's main character, young Jeff, is a passenger on his first flight.