Taye Diggs, Shane Evans Team up, Pen Children’s Book

Taye Diggs, the actor who plays Dr. Sam Bennett on ABC’s Private Practice, has just joined the ranks of the celebrity children’s book authors.

Teaming up with Shane Evans, a successful illustrator, artist and long-time friend, Taye recently completed Chocolate Me!, a kids book which chronicles one boy’s struggle to fit in with those around him because of his race.

“You should be proud and embrace your differences regardless if its race or religion or if something is looked upon as a handicap,” Diggs, father to a two-year-old son named Warner, explained, admitting that the project was inspired from his own personal hardships.

As a child, Diggs encountered a lot of questions and insulting jokes because he didn’t look like the same as other kids with his radiant dark skin, wide nose and bright smile. It took some encouragement from his mother to help him love his features.

“The book is about a time in my life when I lived in a neighbourhood where no one looked like me and (it) resulted in me getting made fun of… My mother then sat with me and convinced me to embrace my differences and that I should love the qualities and features I have regardless of what others thought,” Diggs, 40, revealed.

Taye Diggs’ Chocolate Me! hit shelves today (Sept. 27), to pick up a a copy for yourself, head over to Amazon.com.

via Contact Music