Ryan and Meredith Seacrest Release New Children’s Book (Exclusive)

Chasing dreams is part of the Seacrest family business, and now, Ryan Seacrest and his sister Meredith have each added children’s book author to their long list of accomplishments.

On Oct. 8, the TV host, 49, and the executive director and COO of the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, 43, will publish The Make-Believers, a story largely inspired by their imaginative childhood.

“I was pretending to be a news anchor and videotaping it on VHS. She was pretending to be Madonna. I was always pretending to be Bon Jovi. It was this notion of how limitless is our imagination and how can we actually apply that to being creative and doing what we end up doing today, which is something that does require a little bit of believing,” Ryan, who just kicked off his newest gig hosting the 42nd season of Wheel of Fortune, tells PEOPLE.

While Ryan may not have become a singer like Bon Jovi, his professional path was heavily influenced by the likes of Dick Clark and Casey Kasem — both of whom he did imagine himself as when he was a child.

“I really pretended to be those people in a way that might’ve frightened them if they were to see how focused I was on it, at that age and at that time,” says Ryan with a laugh. “But I was very clear in wanting to do that or believing that would be something that I’d like to do.”

For Meredith, her penchant for playing Madonna (and Debbie Gibson, she says) meant that she and her brother “put on a lot of performances” as children, and translating those experiences to the page felt natural.

The overall theme of the book — which will be published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and illustrated by Bonnie Lui — “celebrates the joys of imagination and the transformative power of play,” says Meredith. “Ryan made his dreams into his reality, and I think there is a powerful lesson to be learned in that.”

And, while being at the heart of the action is second-nature to Ryan, Meredith says she is, ironically, just the opposite.

“Even though Ryan and I come from the same DNA, I am not as keen about being up on stage in front of people like him. I enjoy the behind-the-scenes,” she admits.

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Ryan agrees with his sister, though he sees her strengths in a different way. “She’s calm and chill, and I’m high-speed,” he says. “And the two of us balance each other out in a very good way. We have a great relationship. She texts me all the time!”

Meredith, who is six years younger than Ryan, says that growing up the two “rarely ever fought” as Ryan has always been very “protective.”

The same is true now, says Meredith, and the feeling extends to her daughter, Flora, too. The brother-sister pair first began to reflect on how they often “played make-believe as kids” during the pandemic, and they were inspired by Flora, who, then just three years old, was starting to realize the power of her own imagination.

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“Flora reminds me every day how uniquely special it is to be a child. Watching her play reminds me how it important it is to encourage our children to run wild with their own creativity, to put no cap on possibility,” says Meredith, who shares that she has already read the book to Flora many times.

“Ryan and I hoped the story would serve as a conversation-starter for parents and their little ones, and sure enough, Flora and I talk and giggle long after the final page,” she adds. “She also loves that the chocolate chip pancake part was her idea!”

The Make-Believers goes on sale Oct. 8 and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.