Mary J. Blige is adding children&#8217;s book author to her impressive resume with her new picture book Mary Can!, now available in stores and online
Mary J. Blige is making her children&#8217;s book debut.
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The Grammy and Emmy award-winning entertainer is officially a children&#8217;s author with Mary Can!, her newly released picture book by HarperCollins Publisher.
The book is an inspirational and motivating story about a young girl who proves that anyone can make their dreams come true if they just believe in themselves.
&#8220;I want kids to know that there are no limits to what they can accomplish,&#8221; Blige tells PEOPLE about the book. &#8220;My wish is for my nieces and nephews to feel they can achieve anything they imagine. Growing up, I was constantly told that my dreams were too big, too bold, and too far out of reach. I think we need to reinforce that nothing is impossible.&#8221;
&#8220;From start to finish, this book has been my own dream – starting from just the idea, to partnering with Ashleigh Corrin and Harper Collins who helped bring Mary Can! to life, to seeing the final and finished book – I couldn&#8217;t be more excited to share this with the younger generation,&#8221; she added.
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COURTESY OF HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHERS
Bringing the tale of big dreams to life is Corrin, an Ezra Jack Keats Award-winning illustrator who called the project a &#8220;dream to illustrate.&#8221;
&#8220;My hope has always been to contribute to stories of vulnerability and honesty, and Mary has been just that for the many people she has touched with her music and life story,&#8221; said Corrin in a statement. &#8220;She has given herself to generations and now today&#8217;s youth get to be touched by her courage and strength.&#8221;
&#8220;I want children to feel that they can do anything they set their mind and heart to,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;The story of Mary Can! aligns perfectly with this hope of mine, and I&#8217;m just so proud and honored I was able to be a part of this project and serve her positive message in this way.&#8221;
Mary J. Blige Reveals Why She Doesn&#8217;t Want Kids: &#8216;I Like My Freedom&#8217;
Blige&#8217;s exciting new release comes after a jam-packed 2022 for the multi-hyphenate, who released her fourteenth studio album, Good Morning Gorgeous, in February — two days before she delivered a show-stopping performance of 2001 hits &#8220;Family Affair&#8221; and &#8220;No More Drama&#8221; at the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and special guests 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak.
Ahead of the halftime show, the &#8220;Just Fine&#8221; singer spoke to PEOPLE about representing women in an otherwise male-dominated performance. &#8220;I love the fact that I&#8217;m respected by my male peers like that, I&#8217;ve always been. I&#8217;ve never had a problem with any of my male peers,&#8221; she said at the time. &#8220;And I actually have a lot of male fans too.&#8221;
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Mary J. Blige. WILL STERLING
Blige is considered the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, a title given because she created the genre — blending hip hop and R&amp;B — something she says she&#8217;s receiving credit for now.
&#8220;Being the trailblazer ahead of that whole movement,&#8221; she told PEOPLE earlier this year, &#8220;I honestly can say back then I didn&#8217;t know what I was doing. I was just making music. I feel like I&#8217;m getting the credit that I deserve now, but for a while, people were just passing by me. I don&#8217;t blame anyone. I was passing by myself.&#8221;
She&#8217;s laid it all out there in her raw, vulnerable songs and feels that she has turned yet another corner. &#8220;Mary J. Blige is happy. Happy with herself and happy with her life.&#8221; And she&#8217;s got a new focus: &#8220;me.&#8221;
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t care about myself,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t love myself. You get what you&#8217;re giving yourself. So now that I&#8217;m giving to myself, I&#8217;m getting it all.&#8221;
Mary Can! is available now in stores and online.

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Mary J. Blige Celebrates Her Children’s Picture Book Debut, ‘Mary Can!’: ‘Nothing Is Impossible’