MESA, Ariz. — Backstage at the Mesa Performing Arts Center, actor and bestselling author Max Greenfield is working with local bookstore employees in an assembly line: book after book is signed, placed in a box by a Changing Hands employee and readied to be sold after Greenfield speaks.
As he signs over 800 copies of his four books, Greenfield is talking about guitars and which celebrity is a good dinner guest. He’s playing music from his phone and grinning as he signs book after book, title page after title page.
He says his hand doesn’t hurt – he only worries when his leg falls asleep.
Whether you know Max Greenfield as Schmidt from New Girl or Dave Johnson from The Neighborhood, chances are you’ve seen the Los Angeles-based actor grace your screen at some point.
For audience members in Mesa, they’re excited to see Greenfield for a different reason: his latest children’s book, Good Night Thoughts.
From the screen to the page
Greenfield stopped in Arizona as part of his tour for his fourth book, Good Night Thoughts, a picture book he wrote and that is illustrated by James Serafino.
Greenfield said his writing is less of a transition from acting, but something that works together with his acting.
“I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to write a children’s book in 2020 and I enjoyed the process so much,” Greenfield told 12News. “It’s this incredible balance of getting to act and think about the children’s books and doing sort of both at the same time and it's been really fun.”
His journey as an author started during the pandemic when Greenfield posted videos of himself and his kids trying, much like the rest of the world, to do life from home.
Greenfield was and is still a self-proclaimed reluctant reader — something he hopes his books show kids is much more common than they might think.
“I grew up very reluctant to read anything because it was really difficult,” Greenfield said. “I found it really difficult and I didn’t understand why it was difficult and it didn’t seem like it should be difficult.”
Too ashamed to say anything about his struggles, Greenfield said he found ways around it – and continued to find those ways well into his 30s.
But when he was dealing with similar issues with his daughter, he said it was important to him that his book would add a different perspective to the conversation on reading.
“This experience isn’t always articulated in the classroom,” Greenfield said. “It was those sort of experiences that led me to write the book and ultimately… I just wanted to share those experiences with other children.”
His latest book is, Good Night Thoughts, is a departure from his first books: I Don't Want to Read This Book, This Book is Not a Present, and I Don't Want to Read This Book Aloud all center around Greenfield's struggles with reading.
Good Night Thoughts is all about acknowledging, but not succumbing to, your fears, Greenfield said.
'I felt seen'
Cesmat, who moderated Greenfield's Changing Hands event, said booksellers at Changing Hands sell all of Greenfield’s books to parents, educators, librarians and grandparents because they are the perfect picture book for what many commonly call “reluctant readers.”
“There’s a reading crisis nationally, post-COVID,” Cesmat said. “Max kind of saw a need for some of those reluctant readers and to address some of the topics that are big for kids, but they might not have the language to use.”
As a fan of his first three picture books, when Cesmat saw Greenfield coming out with his fourth book Good Night Thoughts, she knew she wanted to ask Greenfield to stop in the desert on his book tour.
"We all have anxiety and mental health issues," Cesmat said. "At Changing Hands, we want to uplift those stories, and working with Max was a no-brainer.”
And when she read Good Night Thoughts, Cesmat said she felt seen by Greenfield's writing.
“It really spoke to me as someone who struggles with anxiety," Cesmat said. "I wish that this book existed when I was a kid because it gives language to those things I didn’t know how to explain.”
Not your typical bedtime story
While most people recognize Greenfield from his beloved acting roles on television, he said he has started to get recognized by his books.
“The books have really found their voice in schools,” Greenfield said. “It has been so rewarding… listening to librarians and teachers say how much this book means to them, special ed teachers… it’s been so rewarding."
Greenfield said that’s why you go on a book tour – and he is so humbled and appreciative hearing everyone’s stories.
With Good Night Thoughts, Greenfield said the book isn’t meant to be a typical bedtime story. He hopes it is the start of a conversation.
“The desired result is not having your child fall asleep,” Greenfield said with a smile. “It reminds you that you’re okay, and potentially sets up a conversation where that child feels comfortable enough to start to begin to articulate feelings that have potentially been overwhelming to them, that have been difficult to talk about.
A good children’s book is not just meant to be read. It’s meant to start a conversation.”
Next events
Changing Hands brings authors from all over the world to the Valley to share their work and interact with the community. To learn more about their events, head to the website.
This fall, Changing Hands will be hosting several authors for conversation at the Phoenix and Tempe locations, as well as at off-site events. A few authors headed to the Valley soon are:
- Jodi Picoult, 7 p.m. on Sep. 11
- Liane Moriarity, 7 p.m. on Sep. 16
- Connie Chung, 3 p.m. on Sep. 21
- Rupi Kaur, 7 p.m. on Oct. 21
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