Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl … and Lizzo? There’s soon to be a new addition to the children’s authors hall of fame.
On Monday (March 16), Lizzo announced that she is releasing her first children’s book, Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin’. The “Rumors” singer, flute in hand, broke the news in a conversation with Gayle King on CBS Mornings.
“Everyone always asked me my origin story with the flute. They’re like, ‘Why flute, how flute?’” Lizzo told King. “This tells the real-life story of how I started playing flute.”
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The Houston-bred singer and rapper goes on to explain that she’s always loved writing, and before music became her life, she wanted to write The Great American Novel.
“This is such a beautiful marriage of everything that’s me,” Lizzo said of the book.
The book’s title is, of course, inspired by Lizzo’s real flute, whose full name is “Sasha Beatrice Flootin’ Jefferson Kirkwood Johnson Esquire the III.” The name Sasha was inspired by another Houston icon.
“[Beyoncé’s] such an inspiration to me, especially when I was younger growing up,” Lizzo explained on CBS Mornings. “And she had her alter ego. She was like, ‘I’m Beyonce, but then on stage I’m Sasha Fierce.’”
Lizzo related to Beyoncé’s different personalities. While Lizzo was in college studying the flute, she was simultaneously breaking into Houston’s rap scene. She explained to King that she felt like she had to choose between these two sides of herself, and that the flute could be her own alter ego.
“Sasha Fierce. Sasha Floot,” she said.
The “Truth Hurts” artist and King went on to talk more about the message of the book, without giving the ending away. “This is a story about finding your voice. And the only way to find your voice is by being yourself and trusting yourself,” Lizzo shared. “It doesn’t matter where you are, who you know. At the end of the day, it’s always going to be about you.”
Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin’ will hit bookstore shelves on Sept. 9.
Watch the full the full interview with Lizzo and Gayle King below:
