Lizzo’s New Kids’ Book Explains Why the Flute Means So Much

For Lizzo, the flute has never been just another instrument. It helped her find her voice, make lifelong friends and figure out where she belonged. Now, she is giving that same experience to a new generation with her first children’s book.

Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin’, illustrated by Mark Pett, is out now from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. The story follows a bubbly little girl who wants nothing more than to fit in. Her adventure takes an unexpected turn when she meets Sasha B. Flootin’, a smart and brassy flute who is struggling to find her own tune.

Together, the pair travel through a world packed with music and surprises, visiting the jungle, the ocean and even outer space along the way. And yes, the little Lil Lizzo looks a lot like her real-life inspiration, right down to her signature afro-puffs and Jordans.

“But Lil Lizzo and Sasha B. Flootin’ will discover that making a true friend can fill your life with magic and help you discover who you are — and the very best song you can sing is your own,” the official synopsis says of a book the publisher calls “a heartfelt, toe-tapping anthem to friendship, music and finding your voice.”

The book is also deeply personal for Lizzo. Its message about finding your people through music comes from her own childhood and the important role the flute played in her life.

“My flute did help me find my voice, my flute did help me fit in and my flute did help me find my best friends that I have to this day. So, I wanted young people to share that experience with me, and learn about that experience with me, so they can have an experience of their own, and an adventure of their own,” the author explained in a press release. “So maybe they can find their own voice, and maybe they can find their best friends for life.”

For plenty of kids who join school music programs, those friendships can become a huge part of growing up. Lizzo knows that feeling well.

“Being in a band was like having a family at school. We’d wake up, 7a.m., we’d be on the marching band field, and that was the only thing that mattered. English didn’t matter, science didn’t matter, what somebody said about me in the locker rooms at gym didn’t matter, because when we were one band, one sound, that was the only thing in the entire world,” Lizzo recently shared with PEOPLE. “We cried together, we laughed together, we built bonds, we had team goals together. And I think that young people need that outside of the internet now more than ever.”

That sense of belonging is a major part of what Lizzo hopes young readers will take away from the book. It is not simply about learning an instrument. It is about finding a place where you feel comfortable being yourself.

Lizzo also believes learning music can give young people benefits that go far beyond performing on a stage. In fact, she told the outlet she could “do a whole TED talk on” the subject.

“Not only culturally, it’s important for expression and to connect to music or culture, but cognitively, it’s important. What reading sheet music does for a young brain is incredible as far as comprehension skills, math skills … I know what it’s done for me, for being able to compute and be able to speak another language, because sheet music is a language,” she said.

That idea fits perfectly with the book’s bigger message. Music gives kids another way to communicate, understand themselves and connect with other people. Sometimes, finding the right sound can help you find the right people too.

For the singer, writing a children’s book also checked off some long-standing dreams.

“When I was a kid, I wanted to write the Great American Novel. I don’t know why I used that term. I think I learned that term when I was 9, and I just never let it go,” she told PEOPLE. “And then also, I want to be John Williams, the great American composer.”

Her new project manages to bring both dreams together. Along with the story, the book includes a QR code that lets readers hear an exclusive piece of music from Lizzo, which she describes as “my shot at writing a baby symphony.”

“If you really listen to it, the theme has the same kind of buoyancy and and rhythm and cadence of a John Williams anthem, like Jurassic Park or Star Wars. And, I wanted to actually bring the book to life with the music,” she explains. “So, at the beginning, you can hear the adventure beginning, getting started and then towards the middle, you can hear kind of the chaos and calamity, and in the end, we have, like, a beautiful flourish.”

So while kids can follow Lil Lizzo and Sasha B. Flootin’ through their musical adventure, they can also hear the story unfold through sound. Pretty fitting for a book written by someone whose own story has always been closely connected to music.

Lizzo hopes Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin’ will be the beginning of a much bigger writing journey. She became emotional while looking over the final proofs, realizing that she had created something she would have wanted when she was younger.

“I was like, wow, I got to put in this moment that I wish I had when I was a kid, when I was Lil Lizzo’s age, and it was a breathwork moment, a mindful moment, and from my years of living and learning, I’m so honored to be able to infuse that into this book so I can teach a young person how to just press pause for a second and breathe,” she told the outlet.

That moment adds another layer to a book already filled with music, friendship and adventure. Lizzo is not just telling kids to find their voice. She is also reminding them that sometimes finding your voice starts with slowing down long enough to hear yourself.

And then there is the question Lizzo has heard again and again throughout her career: Why the flute?

After all, she has made the instrument one of the most recognizable parts of her musical identity. Now, she said the book may finally provide the ultimate answer.

“One, it’s a very interesting and hot topic, and two, people really want to know, so I decided to make this book to kind of be, like, the ultimate answer to everyone’s question: why the flute, when the flute, how the flute, and who?”

Turns out, the answer involves a little girl, a musical adventure, lifelong friendship and a whole lot of heart.

Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin’ is available now, wherever books are sold.