Amerie, the artist responsible for one of the biggest bops of 2005, “1 Thing,” is releasing her first picture book. The singer made the announcement on her YouTube channel, where she reads and rates books. The book, called “You Will Do Great Things,” is written by Amerie and illustrated by Raissa Figueroa. In the announcement video, she shouted out Figueroa for her beautiful illustrations, saying they took her breath away.
According to the singer, the idea for her book came to her when she and her husband would read to their son, River. She explained reading is a special kind of bonding that benefits the parents as much as the children. She said, “I really wanted to capture how I was feeling when we were reading to our son. I wanted to capture the hopes and the dreams that we have for him,” she said. “ She said her ultimate goal is showing children and parents that despite the “peaks and valleys” of life, they are powerful and have much to look forward to.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by AMERIE 에므리 (@amerie)
“1 Thing” Is For Certain: Amerie Is A True Artist
Since her career began, Amerie has always had a hand in the production and writing of her music. She talked about her influences, ranging from Motown to 80s new wave, in a 2014 interview. In 2019, she went on tour to promote her two previous projects and performed alongside Ashanti, Lil Mo, and Keri Hilson. Coincidently, Ashanti also announced the publication of her own children’s book earlier this year. On her website, Amerie posted a statement explaining why she fell in love with writing.
No matter how exotic the set dressing, at the core of every great story are very real human beings — real emotion and conflict. Somewhere between the lines we read, there we are. So yes, I write because I must write. But I also write to find myself.
In addition to her music and short film career, Amerie started her writing career before this latest project.
