Simon Cowell has always said that he wants his son Eric to follow in his footsteps – and it's already happened! The X Factor judge and his six-year-old have teamed up with Hachette Children's Group to launch their own children's entertainment series, Wishfits. The exciting news was announced on Monday afternoon, and will see Simon and Eric launch a total of seven picture-led children's books, with the first three set to be published at the beginning of 2021. Wishfit was inspired by Eric's impressive imagination, with the Britain's Got Talent star explaining that the pair often talk about the most unlikely animals they would have as pets each evening, which led to the characters in their new franchise.
Watch Simon Cowell and son Eric in a joint interview
Simon Cowell and Eric have created a new children's brand, Wishfits
Simon said: "To be able to write a series of books with my son Eric has been magical. This idea was inspired three years ago by a very special friend of ours who runs a Children’s Hospice charity. I told her one evening about some of the funny animals my son Eric and I would invent, starting with the Cog and the Dat. And how every evening the two of us would think of the most unlikely animal we would like to have as a pet. We would come up with some very strange new animals and the naming of the animals was Eric's favourite thing! She loved this idea so much she encouraged me to turn this into a book series."
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Wishfits were inspired by Simon and Eric's impressive imaginations
On encouraging children's imaginations, Simon added: "I really do believe it’s important to encourage kids' creativity and imagination. I also believe kids have better ideas than most adults. I hope these books will be fun for kids to read, and we will encourage them to come up with new animals for the books. The books will tell how these unique friendships are formed and will celebrate individuality and positivity. We will see how the strengths of these animals are in their differences and make the point we live in a World where inclusivity is so important. And of course, these animals will all have lots of fun on their magical adventures together!"
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Eric said of his favourite characters in the books: "My favourite Wishfits right now are probably Snog and Dat and Cog and the Chimpanpoo. I really hope that one day I can meet them all!" All the characters are hybrids of existing animals, with Dat – a dog and cat, Cog – a cat and dog, Snog – who has the enthusiasm of a dog at the speed of a snail, Peep – a pig and sheep, and Spikey – a spider and donkey, being just some of the stars of Wishfits. Simon and Eric's books will also have an extra-special meaning, as profits will go to two children's charities, Shooting Star Children's Hospices and Together For Short Lives.
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