Things You Didn't Know About Ainsley Earhardt's Children's Books
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Ainsley Earhardt, the Fox News host who happens to be Sean Hannity's not-so-secret girlfriend, has a long list of journalistic accomplishments to her name. The Heavy reveals that she was the first TV anchor to interview Donald Trump on several awkward occasions, including the conviction of his one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the guilty plea of one-time Trump attorney Michael Cohen. She's also covered such notable news stories as the 2012 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the 2013 arrest of Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man who kidnapped three women and kept them captive for over 10 years. On one occasion, Earhardt even jumped out of an airplane with the Army's Golden Knights.
No matter how wrapped up Earhardt is in her career, though, nor how hot and heavy her relationship with Hannity may be, these things pale next to the single most important element of her life: her daughter, Hayden. Although she shares custody of the 5-year-old with her ex-husband, Will Proctor, she finds her greatest joy in being a mom, so much so that she's penned two children's books based on her own experience: "Take Heart, My Child: A Mother's Dream," which was published in 2016, and "Through Your Eyes: My Child's Gift to Me," which came out in 2017.
Earhardt's kids' books look at both sides of the parent-child experience
The first of Ainsley Earhardt's books, "Take Heart, My Child," was written before Hayden was born. Earhardt wrote as a mother-to-be trying to put into words all her hopes and dreams for her future child. As she revealed to Publisher's Weekly, the book was also inspired by her relationship with her own parents. "My mother, who was a teacher, had to be up and out of the house early, so my father was always in charge of breakfast," she told them. "My siblings and I would come down to the kitchen to find notes that he had written to each of us — passages from scripture, poems, or sayings he loved."
Once her daughter was born, Earhardt began imagining seeing the world through her new baby's eyes. She shared an anecdote about the first time her daughter saw rain, describing the infant as "totally transfixed" and saying she experienced her own revelation: "For the first time I got to experience rain through my daughter's eyes — and I realized there is nothing better than that." The book that was borne of this realization was "Through Your Eyes." While the story is not narrated in the child's voice (Hayden, just 18 months old when the book came out, was probably not too articulate at that point), it nevertheless deals with what a child is seeing and how she feels about it.
Ainsley Earhardt's first book seems to have been more popular
Of the two books, "Take Heart, My Child" seems to have been the more popular. While "Through Your Eyes" hit The New York Times bestseller list upon publication, unlike its predecessor on the NYT hit parade, it topped out at No. 2. "Take Heart, My Child," according to Ainsley Earhardt's Amazon author page, is also available as a board book and has even been translated into German, neither of which appears to be the case for her second book. What's more, even five years after its publication, Earhardt's first book still ranks at No. 226 on Amazon's list of Kindle Children's New Baby Books and No. 910 on their list of Children's Parent Books — while after four years, the highest Amazon ranking for her second book is No. 1053 in Children's Parent Books.
Perhaps most tellingly, though, is the fact that several major editorial review sites chose to cover "Take Heart, My Child," while most of the "Through Your Eyes" reviews seem to have been penned by customers. That may be a mixed blessing for the former title, though, since the major review sites didn't exactly rave about it. According to Kirkus, "This treacle-sweet book feels like an extended greeting card." Publisher's Weekly's take was more positive, but still mixed: "Though the advice can be syrupy or overfamiliar ... Earhardt's you-can-do-it message is consistently encouraging."
Amazon reviews are a mixed bag
While both of these titles average Amazon ratings in the high 4 stars, many reviewers seem to have been motivated by the fact that they're already fans of the person penning the book. One such review of "Take Heart, My Child" read: "Ainsley Earhardt is one of the classiest ladies in news right now. Add to that, she is a godly woman, a beautiful lady, a southern belle, and a wonderful mother. We need more women like this writing children's books." Another person, commenting on "Through Your Eyes," noted that "Ansley [sic] Earhardt has made it a point of donating profits from her books to help veterans and their families and this alone was worth the purchase."
Other reviewers, however, noted that while they liked Earhardt as a person, her writing skills weren't exactly on a professional level. One of the reviews of her earlier title was directed at the author, telling her: "Ainsley, I love you. Glad you got the job. Very disappointed with this book, you should've put a little effort into it," while the latter book drew such comments as "If we're honest with ourselves and put fandom aside, this isn't a good book ... No talent, no originality — a clearly infantile book. If she wasn't on TV this wouldn't have ever merited publication on any scale."
Ainsley Earhardt has also written a book for adults
Ainsley Earhardt's latest book came out last year, but unlike her previous works, it wasn't aimed at children. Instead, "The Light Within Me: An Inspirational Memoir" was written for an adult audience, even if, at just 111 pages it's on the short side for this genre. This title, like her second children's book, didn't seem to garner much critical attention, although she did net a few high-profile blurbs. Her boyfriend, Sean Hannity, wrote: "Very few public figures would ever be willing to be vulnerable and real by sharing their innermost thoughts and secrets. In The Light Within Me, Ainsley does just that, revealing the true secret to her success — her deep faith in God." Another celeb shout-out came from Tim Tebow, who said: "Ainsley is passionate about her relationship with Jesus and, as a cohost, waking you up each morning and giving you the story. While she's living her dream, it hasn't always been easy ... Her transparency will both inspire and motivate you to believe in great things, while trusting God in the process."
This book, like Earhardt's earlier titles, was very popular with the majority of Amazon reviewers, particularly those who share her religious views. Some, however, felt the news of her second divorce overshadowed her message about family values. Despite the controversy, though, the book still sold well, and a year after its release is holding on to the No. 510 spot on Amazon's list of Spiritual Biographies.