Viola Davis has expanded her scope into the children’s literature sphere and it’s all because of her daughter, Genesis Tennon. The celebrity mom tells Entertainment Weekly that her little one was the inspiration behind her determination to write a Corduroy book.
“It was an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Viola tells the media source. “With my daughter, when she was a baby, that was the book that she just loved the most. You read so many different books to your child, and there are certain ones that just stick — where they literally enter the story, from the moment you begin. Perhaps it was Lisa and the fact that she was an African-American; maybe it gave her a sense that she was a part of it. But that was the story that stuck. It’s just close to my heart. Certain characters stay with you, and that’s Corduroy.”
Some #MondayMotivation from our favorite bear, #Corduroy! pic.twitter.com/l1M0zk0448
— Penguin Kids (@penguinkids) July 30, 2018
Corduroy entered the literary scene in 1968 and has touched the lives of many children since then. There are many lessons that one can learn from this lovable bear, which are not limited to how to have compassion for one’s fellow man and the essentials of sharing.
I am a little bit in love with a man. And that man, is @JamesAcaster 💛 #corduroy
— Sammi-Jo Lowe (@sammijo94) September 4, 2018
“Reading was the escape,” Viola recently told media of her upbringing. “Reading was an escape into an imaginary world where none of those things existed — where I could re-create myself and I could re-create a life where I played a better role. And it’s that place, in reading, it was that place that sort of saved me.”
Now, Viola Davis brings that joy and opportunity to escape to other kids through her book, Corduroy Takes A Bow. Learn more about the book here!
Photo: Getty Images
