“I grew up with parents who worked three jobs each and lived paycheck to paycheck. I started acting at a young age so I probably have a different understanding and view than maybe a lot of people in my circumstance as far as what it means to struggle and how you want to be treated if you ever were in that circumstance,” says Alba, 40, in a joint interview with PEOPLE.
The star, 40, shares daughtersHonor, 13,Haven, 10, and sonHayes, 3, with husband Cash Warren, 42.
“I always want my kids to have their feet on the ground and understand that they can do something about it — and never to take anything for granted,” Alba continues.
InA Bear to Share, a little girl named Tiana is torn after she’s given a new teddy bear to replace her older, slightly worn teddy bear, Bach. When she learns that her friend Timothy doesn’t have a teddy bear of his own, Tiana gives him her new one.
“Tiana knew Timothy deserved a bear to love and make his own,” the co-authors write inA Bear to Share. “One with both of its eyes and all of its stuffing so he could feel as special as she did when she got Bach.”
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“I think it’s these constant reminders that really brings it to life for kids,” she says. “Which is why we think it resonates so well as a story because most children can relate to something like a teddy bear — that even those things are things that other children are struggling to afford.”
Weinstein adds, “The more that we can talk about it with our kids, the more that we think it will lead them to adulthoods where they are citizens who give back.”
Jessica Alba with her family.Jessica Alba/Instagram
Alba saysA Bear to Shareis a “very tender book.”
The authors.COURTESY OF BABY2BABY
“In those moments when you see parents and you’re able to… hand them diapers, food, groceries, and the things that they need for their children, there are tears in the parents' eyes,” Sawyer Patricof remembers. “We met grandparents who thanked us and cried and were saying, ‘God bless you.’ You could really see the need was so great.”
Alba, the founder of The Honest Company, says that giving back is a focus for her family throughout the year.
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Even Hayes is included in the conversation. Alba says readingA Bear to Sharehas become part of their routine.
“My son Hayes, who is more appropriately aged for this book, he loves it,” she says. “This is the book he wants to read at night, and when a kid gets into a book, it becomes the book that you read every night for weeks and months on end, sometimes years. So, this is already a staple in our house.”
A Bear to Shareis on sale now.
source: people.com
