Actor Nico Tortorella is coming out with a children’s book about the importance of self-acceptance, People magazine reports.
Random House Books for Young Readers will publish Tortorella’s Olivette Is You next spring. The publisher describes the picture book, illustrated by Melissa Kashiwagi, as a “buoyant story [and] a celebration of all the many different parts of us.”
Tortorella is known for starring in the television series The Following, Younger, and The Walking Dead: World Beyond. The actor is gender fluid, and People magazine says he prefers he/him pronouns in writing.
In its description of the book, which focuses on a young child, Random House says, “Olivette is here to let you in on a secret: you can be anything you want to be. And even better, you can be all of it! Olivette is energetic, moody, and unique—just like you, Olivette contains multitudes.”
This will be the third book from Tortorella, who previously wrote a poetry collection, all of it is you, and a memoir, Space Between.
Tortorella announced the news of Olivette Is You on Instagram, writing, “The heart of this book's theme is liberatingly simple. Instead of the familiar ‘you can be anything you want to be when you grow up,’ Olivette offers a fresh perspective. It empowers you to recognize that YOU ALREADY EMBODY THE ENTIRETY OF THE UNIVERSE WITHIN YOU. Olivette is YOU, and ALL OF IT is YOU! It's a journey of immersing oneself in the tapestry of existence within, embracing your inherent worth and boundless potential.”
Olivette Is You is slated for publication on April 30, 2024.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
