Anne Curtis writes her first children’s book for UNICEF

As a UNICEF advocate for children, Anne Curtis admitted she was happy to take on the challenge of writing her first children’s book. The story Anita the Duckling Diva is one of the six books that was part of UNICEF’s Children First! Storybooks media launch held last February 19 at SM North, The Block in Quezon City. Anne said it took her five months to finish her story.

'UNICEF gave me a writing mentor, sir Augie Rivera. So I met with him every Thursday at the UNICEF office. It felt like I was going to office work as well or going back to school and I had writing workshops. So Anita the Duckling Diva went through many different drafts, around five drafts I think until we came up with this one,” she shared.

Anne shared that one of her lesser-known interests is that she has always been a bookworm and writer. 'Mahilig talaga akong magsulat sa diary. And the way I have been writing my diary has been very story type so mahilig talaga ako magsulat. And then nung nabanggit ko na I’d like to write a children’s book for the benefit of UNICEF they were very open to it. And then I met sir Augie my writing mentor and meron na akong first draft. Medyo dramatic, ganyan. Tapos in-explain niya sa akin yung mga elements of writing a book. I didn’t realize how hard it is. From the word count to how many pages lang yung puwede, parang meron pa siyang nasabi na dapat every page cliffhanger para interesado ang mga bata to turn that page. So ang hirap (laughs). After five drafts we finally had Anita the duckling diva. So ang laki talaga ng pasasalamat ko kay sir Augie kasi tinutukan niya talaga ako sa writing,” she explained.

The story of a shy duckling named Anita was something that Anne admitted is close to her heart. 'The thing is, growing up I also was very shy. But when you finally read a book, my writing mentor for this told me that when you’re dealing with shyness you have to do research on it if you’re going to write about it. So I read up on it. And that’s what I noticed, that these are things I could relate to myself. I also had a comfort object or a security object which may be a stuffed toy or a security blanket. In a way that’s how I can relate to it and I kind of used that as an inspiration for Anita herself because that’s also another way that children would be able to relate to. In a way there’s definitely a lot of me inside of the book, a lot of love and hoping to be inspirational to the children who will read it. I want to say that it’s okay to be shy, to find out how you can boost your confidence again. So that’s how I can relate (to it),” she said.

The It’s Showtime host said she really wants to be an instrument to help kids. 'What served as an inspiration for me was I actually get to interact with a lot of children. One of the few things I noticed is a lot of them battle with shyness and confidence in themselves so I chose to tackle that because it’s something that I know I am able to relate to myself. So I wanted to write a book that would be enjoyable for children to read but also at the same time be able to help them overcome their shyness. That’s why I came up with the character of Anita,” she added.

Another habit Anne wants to help instill in the younger generation is to help nurture their love for reading. 'I read a lot. I think it’s also a great way for a mother and child or father and child or brothers and sisters and friends to actually bond especially at bedtime. It’s such a great experience that you can’t really take away. And I think that’s something that would be great for children to be able to have those communication skills with their parents and friends and being able to talk about a book, holding it, and looking at the pictures together. I think that would be nice to influence the kids of today,” she admitted.

After turning 31 last February 17, Anne said she made a special birthday request to her fans and followers. 'In a way it’s a way to celebrate. I actually made it a birthday post of mine. Instead of my fans and followers buying or giving me birthday gifts, this would be the best birthday gift ever because the P500 where you get all six children’s books it goes to UNICEF Philippines. So for me, that would be the best birthday gift ever. Instead of giving me a gift, why not support an advocacy that I truly believe in? And actually in this book of course you have the story but also there’s also children’s rights. I think that’s very important that at such a young age children already know what their rights are. So I think this is why it’s very important that parents will support and give their children a copy of all the six books that are part of the Children’s First Storybooks,” she said.