Spotlight On Ariana Grande & Spotlight On Cynthia Erivo by Elizabeth Dennis, Hunter M Green & Ruth Burrows

or some (honestly quite excellent) combination of the three.

Listen, I read a lot of gossip and entertainment magazines. It’s a running joke in my trivia circles that I get the vast majority of my news from Us Weekly and Variety. So, as an adult, I am tamping down all the salacious details I know of both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s personal lives to check out these Wicked movie franchise tie-in picture books for kids.

And honestly? They’re as delightful and charming as both actresses can be, and showcase them at their best, in exactly the way that the movies inspire viewers to be their best, too.

It starts with the sparkly covers, where each entertainer’s outfit glitters with an eye-catching combination of pink, green and their gradients. Ruth Burrows’ illustrations throughout recognizably evoke each woman while placing her in scenes that feel, if not outright familiar, then entirely rooted in reality. I loved both the connecting color schemes, as well as the way that the thematic hearts for Ariana and stars for Cynthia make cameos in the other’s book.

The texts themselves skip lightly over their subjects’ lives, deftly avoiding the many (many) controversies to focus on how each icon worked hard, believed in herself and overcame adversity in order to achieve her dreams. Both women were driven from childhood to prove themselves. Ariana has performed professionally since she was a kid, while Cynthia took a detour into studying music psychology in college before enrolling in the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts. While Cynthia has been an outspoken proponent of LGBTQIA+ causes, Ariana has been transparent about mental health issues: both women are passionate advocates for worthy movements.

The books also celebrate female friendships and solidarity, using the women’s famously solid bond as their template, before urging readers to use their abilities… for good (in keeping with the marketing for the Wicked sequel.) Finally, both books end by asking the reader how they will shine like the subject of each mini-biography does.

These are super cute media tie-ins that lean girlboss in a way that’s entirely appropriate for a young audience. They’re meant to be inspirational on a very surface level yet still manage to include depth in their gentle allusions to the struggles each star has undergone to get to where she is today. They’re great non-fiction titles for advancing readers, whether or not said readers love the Wicked franchise or are fans of both stars already. And gosh, I can’t get over how delightfully sparkly the covers are! I’m a lifelong sucker for that kind of thing, and I imagine many other readers (and potential lifelong readers!) are too.

Spotlight On Ariana Grande by Elizabeth Dennis, Hunter M Green & Ruth Burrows, and Spotlight On Cynthia Erivo by Hunter M Green, Elizabeth Dennis & Ruth Burrows were published yesterday September 23 2025 by Simon Spotlight and are available from all good booksellers, including