Actress, singer, and former pageant queen Vanessa Williams has written a new book for children highlighting black mermaids.
For kids ages three to eight, Bubble Kisses comes out under Sterling Publishing June 23, but Vanessa is already on a public relations blitz, mostly videoconferencing on talk shows and getting social media love from fellow celebrity friends amid COVID-19 coronavirus restrictions.
The story surrounds a young girl whose goldfish blows kisses that transform the girl into a mermaid in an underwater world. The girl and the goldfish sing and dance underwater, which comes alive with the accompanying CD and digital download. The cover shows a mermaid who resembles Vanessa.
The vibrant illustrations are by Tara Nicole Whitaker, who draws Disneyesque fantasy characters in all complexions. She also contributed the artwork to the mermaid graphic novel, Disney Princess: Ariel and the Sea Wolf by Liz Marsham, released under Penguin Random House last year.
Vanessa co-wrote her 2012 memoir, You Have No Idea: A Famous Daughter, Her No-nonsense Mother, and How They Survived Pageants, Hollywood, Love, Loss (and Each Other), with her mother Helen Williams. Its publisher is also Penguin Random House.