Julie Andrews discusses her latest children's book
Dame Julie Andrews is a renowned singer and actress, but in recent years she’s become a celebrated children’s book author as well. In honor of Mother’s Day and her newest bestseller, Thanks to You: Wisdom from Mother & Child ($10), co-written with her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, 44, Julie talks about how her children and grandchildren have inspired her to put pen to paper.
Julie, 71, who writes under her married name, Julie Andrews Edwards (she’s married to director Blake Edwards), fell into writing by accident after being on the losing end of a challenge with her stepdaughter Jennifer, now 48, in 1971.
I was playing a game with my children and my eldest daughter told me, ‘If you forfeit you must write me a story.’ She was my new stepdaughter and I thought maybe we could bond a bit if I did a little more than a couple of pages.
The end result was Mandy ($11.55) and over the years, the star has continued writing a diversified library of children’s tales, all of which can be found at The Julie Andrews Collection, managed by Julie and Emma.
I asked my Emma if she had to go to the library what would be a book you would like to get? and she told me ‘Mom it is no contest. It will have to be about trucks.’ That’s how the Dumpy books came about.
Thanks to You: Wisdom from a Mother & Child celebrates parenting and is geared more towards adults than children.
We wanted it to be about gratitude. We know that children learn from their parents, particularly their mothers. As we began to write we realized that we as mothers learn from our kids. We teach them to be patient and to put their fears aside and trust they will survive. They teach us to look at the small things and appreciate them.
In addition to Emma and Jennifer, Julie has three other children, stepson Geoffrey and daughters Amy, 33, and Joanna, 32, both of whom she and Blake adopted from Vietnam, and at least seven grandchildren, including Sam, 10 1/2, and Hope, 3 1/2, Emma’s children with husband Stephen Hamilton. Julie relishes being a mother and grandmother, noting that those are the best roles she’s ever had and "all mums and grandmums would tell you that." Besides reading and introducing books to her grandkids, she loves being outdoors with them.
Best of all, I enjoy taking them into the garden. It sounds so trite, but it is an adventure. I ask them how many red colors they see and it makes them start looking. I love the quality time it provides us.
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
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