Mariah Carey vs. Nick Cannon's Holiday Children's Books
The queen of Christmas — that would be Mariah (duh!) — has a new holiday-themed kid’s book. (Getty Images)
Mariah Carey finally has a children’s book to call her own.
This week, the songstress/diva/mother of Lambs released All I Want for Christmas Is You, a pretty little picture book inspired by her hit song of the same name. It follows the journey of a young Mariah lookalike (complete with beauty mark!), who really, really, really wants a puppy (specifically a Jack Russell terrier, Mariah’s fave) for Christmas. The dog-obsessed girl bakes canine holiday cookies, makes a snowmutt, and asks Santa to bring her a pup. Ultimately, she gets to adopt her furry friend.
Mariah’s new book features her mini-me. (Doubleday Books for Young Readers)
Now we say finally because Mariah was supposed to release a book with her ex-husband Nick Cannon. The press release for the tome — a hip version of “Twelve Days of Christmas" featuring their children, Monroe and Moroccan — went out back in January 2014 with a quote about the then-couple being “so excited” about it. However, by the time it was released in November, they were living apart, and he filed for divorce on Dec. 12.
Nick released his book as a solo author last year, but the inside had Mariah’s stamp. (Scholastic Press)
So what happened was Cannon ended up releasing the book, Roc and Roe’s Twelve Days of Christmas, as a solo author, but he couldn’t — and didn’t — erase all the Mariah-ness in it. On the first page was a message from both of them about how they “had so much fun putting this book together” — as well as a Christmas card–worthy family photo of the adorable quartet. The America’s Got Talent host also dedicated the book to “Mariah, Roc, and Roe. With Love, Daddy.” Awkward!
In Mariah’s new book, she writes, “This book is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” and we know that’s true. It took a full year longer than she had wanted it to.
Mariah is using their adorable children, Roc and Roe, to help market her new book. Brilliant. (Instagram)
Looking at Mariah and Nick’s books side by side, there are several similarities. Again, they are Christmas themed, so of course there are trees, snowmen, presents, stockings, wreaths, Santas, and all that. But also:
Both books are not original stories. Hers features all the lyrics to her song; his is based on the famous Christmas carol.
There are a ton of Jack Russells. Like we said, it’s Mariah’s favorite breed of dog. The couple reportedly had eight between them.
The superstylish characters look exactly like them. It’s a great illustration of mini Mariah (the credit goes to Colleen Madden), and ditto the book version of Roc and Roe (done by AG Ford).
The characters are doing similar things in each story. Like we said, they are both Christmas books, so there is a lot of overlap visually. But it’s kinda funny how they both featured the kids sitting on beanbags reading books. It’s kind of a specific thing.
There is certainly room on the shelf for more than one Christmas book, however, so if you would like to add Mariah’s new tome to your collection, it is now available. And, of course, it’s not too late to buy Nick’s either.
And because this is pretty much our favorite thing ever about the holidays in recent years, here’s Mariah performing “All I Want for Christmas Is You” on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon:
