Lauren Sánchez Bezos channels her passion into inspiring confident young readers
The New York Times Bestselling Author transforms life lessons, wonder, and a spirit of exploration into stories that encourage kids to believe in themselves.
In her latest chapter as an author, Lauren Sánchez Bezos is channeling her lifelong fascination with the extraordinary into something far more intimate: her second children’s book. The Emmy Award–winning journalist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist has spent much of her career in high-stakes environments where precision matters and adrenaline comes with the territory. These days, though, her attention is focused on something quieter, yet just as meaningful: telling stories for young readers.
Sánchez Bezos shared with ¡HOLA! what draws her to children’s books and how her own childhood shaped that calling. She reflects on what she wishes she had understood about herself at a young age and why building confidence early can make all the difference.
The Fly Who Flew Under the Sea comes out on March 3, 2026 in English and Spanish.
She also opens up about her love of exploration, from the sky to the sea, and the sense of wonder she hopes to spark in children who are just beginning to discover the magic of books, especially when those stories are read at home with their parents.
You have built a career in high stakes worlds like aviation, news, and even space. What made children’s books feel like the most meaningful place for you to tell stories now?
You know what? Children's books are where wonder starts. With kids, you are shaping how they see the world. Kids are naturally bold. They ask the biggest questions. They think in the most creative ways and children’s books can help spark curiosity.
I care deeply about encouraging parents to sit down and read with their children. There is real research showing that shared reading strengthens attachment and increases oxytocin, the hormone tied to trust and bonding. Ten minutes with a book is not just story time, it is child feeling safe and seen. If I can help create more of those moments in families, that is so incredibly meaningful.
What do you remember about the first time a book made you feel seen, and how did that memory shape the kind of author you want to be for kids?
When I was little, no one told me my brain worked differently. I did not hear that until community college. That is years of believing you are not smart and aren’t good in school, that does something to a child. It was not that I could not learn. I just did not learn the way everyone else did. When I finally understood that it was not a flaw, it was freeing. But I wish, I had heard that at seven or eight.
That is why I write these books. I do not want kids waiting that long to understand themselves and I want parents sitting next to them when they read, building that bond, so a child never has to feel alone in the process.
Your first book looked up to space and this one goes deep into the sea. What do those two frontiers have in common for you personally?
They both humble you. Completely. When you look at Earth from space, you see how connected we all are. When you dive under the sea, you feel how alive and mysterious it is. Both experiences remind you that we are part of something so much bigger than ourselves. They can feel intimidating and they both scared me a little at first. But if you approach them with curiosity instead of fear, they open up the world in ways you never expected.
“I do not want kids waiting that long to understand themselves. I do not want them spending years doubting themselves the way I did.”
You have spoken about dyslexia. When you were a child, what did you need to hear that you hope today’s kids will hear through this story?
I needed someone to say that my brain just worked differently and that is okay. Flynn mixes up Cape Canaveral and Cape Coral. One small word shifts and suddenly she is underwater instead of heading to space. That feels very familiar to me. For years, I thought those mix-ups meant I was not capable.
Now I see they were part of how my mind works. I do not want kids spending years doubting themselves the way I did. I want them to hear earlier that different does not mean less. And I want them to hear it while sitting next to someone who loves them, reading together, building confidence and connection at the same time.
The story begins with a wrong turn that becomes a discovery. How do you want kids to think about mistakes after they close the book?
Flynn thinks she is going one place and ends up somewhere completely different because of one mixed-up word. Cape Canaveral becomes Cape Coral and suddenly she is under the sea.
That is life. Some of the biggest shifts in my own life came from things not going according to plan.I want kids to understand that getting lost is not always failure. Sometimes it is the beginning of something unexpected and beautiful. When you read that kind of message together as a family, it opens conversations. It gives kids language for resilience. And honestly?It reminds parents of that too.
What was the most unforgettable thing you learned while researching ocean life for this book, the kind of fact that made you stop and smile?
Oh, I love this question. I was fascinated to learn that deep-sea corals live under immense pressure and in total darkness, yet they are still thriving and beautiful. That stayed with me. Through the Bezos Earth Fund, I have seen how fragile and powerful our oceans are at the same time.
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“Getting lost is not always failure. Sometimes it is the beginning of something unexpected and beautiful.”
Lauren Sánchez Bezos
Watch Lauren talk about her second children's book
You work on protecting nature through the Bezos Earth Fund. What do you want a child to understand about the planet that adults sometimes forget?
When you feel connected to something, you naturally want to protect it. It is that simple. If a child falls in love with the ocean through a story, that connection stays. It becomes part of who they are.
The Bezos Earth Fund supports global efforts to protect vast ocean areas and coastal ecosystems, and I am so proud of that work. But stories are often the spark. And when that story is read together, parent and child, side by side, that connection grows even stronger. That is where it all begins.
The book launches in English and Spanish and connects to a major literacy program. What does reaching kids in their language and in their classrooms mean to you, and what would you love to hear back from them afterward?
My heritage is important. There are children growing up in bilingual homes where a parent or grandparent reads in Spanish while school happens in English, and I did not want a single one of those kids to be left out. As a Literacy Champion for Impact Reading, I believe access, language, and feeling included matters.
Every child deserves to see themselves in a story. What would I love to hear from kids? That Flynn made them feel brave. That they read it with someone they love. That they felt a little more confident after closing the book. Because at the end of the day, reading is not just about words on a page.
The Fly Who Flew Under the Sea is available for purchase on March 3, 2026 in English and Spanish.
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© IG: Lauren Sánchez Bezos
