This year at D23, Tony Award-winning Disney Legend and voice of Princess Tiana, Anika Noni Rose, shared her new book, Tiana’s Perfect Plan, with guests. With a passion for children’s literacy, this is a true dream come true for Anika. The Disney-Hyperion collaboration was something she never thought she’d be able to do. Over the weekend, the author signed books for guests lucky enough to grab a copy during the event. The book will be available October 22, 2024.
Tiana’s Perfect Plan is a charming picture book that shows Princess Tiana on a never-before-seen New Orleans adventure. After traveling all winter, Tiana and Naveen are back in New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras. Tiana wants everything to be just right, putting the finishing touches on their party favors and parade float. But an unexpected letter from Naveen’s parents, the king and queen of Maldonia, arrives. They’ve decided to join the celebration!
Determined to make it the best Mardi Gras ever, Tiana sets out on a new adventure with some old friends to find the perfect ingredients for a special addition to the festivities. Soon, though, she discovers that perfection might not be the goal, and she may already have all she needs.
During a brief sitdown with BGN, Anika highlighted her book’s potential to inspire creativity and promote literacy. She also discussed her experience writing a children’s book, emphasizing the importance of making reading a fun and enjoyable experience for children. Take a look at the interview below to learn about what this princess’s journey has been like.
First, congratulations on being the youngest Disney legend. A book, a theme park ride, TV, film — did you ever in your wildest dreams think you’d be here today?
We did the movie, and there were things that I was excited about because I had heard rumblings of a restaurant, rumblings of a potential ride, and then that sort of dissipated. I never thought this was going to be part of my journey, this book, and being able to be a published author in this way, and also being able to contribute to the IP that is Princess Tiana, is hugely fulfilling and joyous to me. I love kids. I love being capable of talking to them. This whole experience has turned into so much more than I imagined it could or would be, and that is such a huge blessing and an honor.
You’re a big children’s literacy advocate. Are there any special plans for this book for that kind of work?
Well, we’re going to do a book tour. There are specific schools that I’m going to stop at, talk to, and spend time with. I am big on children and children’s literacy. I was and am an avid reader, and I think it is the way to open the world up for children and to open themselves up. So yes, is the short answer to that question. I’ve been doing research and have people on the ground in different cities doing research on organizations that I can potentially partner with, to see how we can broaden the reach. I think that somehow, particularly in our community, it is deemed uncool to be a reader. I don’t know when that happened. But I know even when I was a kid, people called me a brainiac or a nerd or whatever, and I was supposed to feel bad about that. I’m in this book because I’m happy here.
I think that as an actor, being such a reader has assisted me as well because of the things that I can experience in a book that I would never experience in life. I don’t have time to experience all those things. But we know that it also opens synapses in the brain. It opens new pathways neurologically when you are reading and when you read to a child. So those things are very, very important. Not just to say that somebody can read, which is extremely important, but to read to a child is very, very important, and we know that now without a doubt. So there’s no reason not to have this be something joyous and fun, and to introduce it to children very early.
[When I was asked,] “What do you want for Christmas?” I had a list of books. That’s how we should introduce reading. It shouldn’t be introduced as a chore. It should be introduced as fun, as joy, as it is a sense of play.How was a the process of writing a children’s book for you? Did you find anything surprising? Where were you limited? How much creative input did you have?
It was all me! It was all me, which was really thrilling. So Disney Hyperion came to me and asked me if I had any interest in writing a children’s book. I had created a little show called Bedtime Stories for the Littles during the quarantine. They liked the way I told stories, through the words, but also through the page, and all of the things that were there. I said absolutely. Then they asked me how I wanted to do it and what I wanted to do. So I came up with an outline. I said, well, what if we do this, that, and the other? It was also important to me to take Tiana out of the kitchen so that I could move through the world and do other things. They let me run. I made my pitch for the idea, they loved it.
I have an amazing editor, Britt Rubiano. She’s phenomenal. Editing is not phenomenal. But when you have an amazing editor, it is a joyous process. She’s like a gentle knife. She said, “Okay, well, we have to cut four to five pages.” That is devastating. But, she’s also somebody who’s like, “Okay,” if I say “Well, if we have to cut four to five pages, what if instead of cutting four to five pages, we find a way to split the page and keep everything that’s there? We just lose page count, but we don’t lose story or image.” That’s just because I read a lot of books and I have a lot of children’s books, so I know how they look. So I was happy to say that as an option.
I really love the process of it, once I stopped being frightened of being edited, which was scary to me. You know when you put something out there that you love, and then somebody says actually we’re going to take some of this back. Also just being a Virgo. It was scary. It stopped being scary, and I started to actually really look forward to it. I love talking to my editor. I love having a session with her. I love learning from her about the mapping out of a book because that’s what I’m not familiar with. I can tell the story all day long. The mapping is very interesting. I don’t know if I answered your question.
Yes, you did, and more. Congratulations. You’re such an inspiration, honestly, for me and I know for everyone at Black Girl Nerds. So, thank you very much.
Thank you! Thank you! It was good to see you.
