The false believers

During an interview with Good housekeeping for his new picture book The false believersRyan revealed: “For efficiency reasons, I would like to be able to fly. I would get a lot more done!”

Ryan, 49, co-authored the book with his younger sister Meredith Seacrest Leach, who also likes to keep busy. Meredith leads the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, which builds Seacrest Studios media centers in children’s hospitals across the country to give young patients the opportunity to sing, dance, play and be creative. Before the siblings headed to the new pediatric facility at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to distribute their new book, they chatted Good housekeeping (in the car, of course, to maximize every minute!) about why this project is so important to them.

Why they wanted to publish a book

Ryan: “I was inspired by my niece’s creativity and imagination, as well as the dreams, thoughts and ambitions of children I met from across America through our foundation. They may be going through something right now, but there is no shortage of what they want to do and how big they dream. We want to celebrate this idea.

How the process went

Meredith: “When I thought about our childhood, I came up with the idea of ​​making the book about fantasies. Then we contacted a publisher and started focusing on the words and the plot. I read so many children’s books as research! We were paired with an amazing illustrator, Bonnie Lui. It took us over two years to produce from start to finish, but we’re excited to share it with families.

Meredith (left) and Ryan (right) as children.

About who they pretended to be as children

Ryan: “Meredith and I played together all the time. “I pretended to be Bon Jovi and sang ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ and Meredith ran the lights and camera.”

Meredith: “Then we did it differently and I pretended I was Madonna and Cyndi Lauper and Ryan was a news anchor interviewing the singers. We did so many shows!”

About her favorite books from childhood

Ryan: “I liked crime fiction, like the Hardy Boys series, but now I’m more of a fan of non-fiction. Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite authors.”

Meredith: “I loved the Amelia Bedelia series and have now read them to my daughter. She’s still so funny!”

About their hopes for readers

Ryan: “We wanted every family to read The false believers to see yourself in it and use your imagination. Whether you are a wheelchair user or need a hearing aid, you will find yourself in the illustrations. We hope everyone will explore the world outside of their circumstances.”

The former senior editor at Parents Karen Cicero, who created the brand’s awards programs, is an experienced journalist specializing in travel, book, lifestyle and food reporting. Cicero has visited almost every state with her family (look out for Wyoming, she’s coming for you next!). She recently presented at several travel industry conferences, including PRSA and the Mid-Atlantic Tourism Alliance. Cicero is a mother who overdoes everything during the holidays. She lives in the Christmas town itself: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.