Julianne Moore is a woman with a mission.  And it’s not acting- though few would dispute that she has mastered that pursuit.  As the author of three children’s books, the latest being Freckleface Strawberry: Best Friends Forever, Moore is committed to more children being exposed to the expanding world of books.  In my interview with her she suggests that books give children entree into places they would never have otherwise.  While Moore makes no attempt to infuse her books with heavy “messages”,  important lessons emerge organically as her characters exist in their fictional world.  Themes such as tolerance, inclusivity and self-acceptance filter through as Freckleface Strawberry and her friends navigate a world that can sometimes be unfriendly but never dull.

Moore suggests that at around age 7 children begin to notice their differences and become more self-conscious about their appearance.  She talks about how her own son looked in the mirror and said, “Mom, my teeth are too big.”  Or how others may say, “I don’t like my hair.”  Moore, red-haired and freckled, is the inspiration for the lead character in the Freckleface Strawberry books and knows something about dealing with these issues from her own childhood.  She is living testimony that if we hold on long enough, what we perceive as our deficits can soon become our most winning qualities.