Gloria Estefan Writes Kids' Book
Singer Gloria Estefan has won multiple Grammy awards, and has been elected to the Songwriters Hall Of Fame.
Now, she's written a children's book called "The Magically Mysterious Adventures Of Noelle The Bulldog." Click here to read an excerpt.
"I think every child, every person at some point in their life feels like they don't fit in," Estefan told The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler. "I wanted to plant some seeds with this book in young children today to realize how important it is to have your identity and to be who you are."
Inspired by Estefan's beloved pet, the premise of the book is that Noelle is different from everyone and everything else, and doesn't think she has any qualities that matter. But, alas, it turns out that Noelle is able to help others in ways that other dogs and animals can't. Then she saves the day and realizes that her differences make her special.
"Noelle is apart from everyone else. She's like a person," Estefan said about her pet. "Never had to train her; never had to house break her. She's the peacemaker in the house. She's an amazing dog, very special. She came into my life by accident. I bought her for my son as a Christmas present. She came from Colombia, South America, so she's an immigrant like I was. And she became very ill. We got my son another dog, and she pulled through and I kept her. And we bonded very tightly.
Her book is written in rhyme.
"I think I did it because, first, I'm a huge Dr. Seuss fan. I love him," she said. "As a child, my favorite Spanish poet was Jose Marti and, I mean, I read a 36 stanza poem at 2½. I wanted to make this almost like a lullaby. When you read it, it rhymes. It was fun for me. I really enjoyed it."
It also includes a CD with her very first children's song, which she sang for The Early Show.
"I wrote the music about 15 years ago," she said. "And I kept thinking it was so sweet that it didn't fit into any of the albums I was doing. I kept thinking one day this will be perfect. Sure enough, when I did the melody, I sat down with her right next to me and wrote it quick."
Recently, Estefan has been helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina. She organized some events and just did a relief concert that raised over $750,000. She also did a relief trip in Louisiana and Mississippi and took two planes full of supplies to the victims.
She is also working on a screenplay of the life story of Connie Francis, the first female pop artist who sang "Where the Boys Are." She has signed on to do two more books about Noelle, as well.