Taraji P. Henson’s experience as a substitute teacher and her love for children inspired her to write a new children’s book (exclusive)

“I really got a lot of my character traits from children because they are so honest and pure,” the actress from “The Color Purple” explains to PEOPLE

Taraji P. Henson’s career as a substitute teacher before her breakthrough served as inspiration for her new children’s book!

The colour purple The 53-year-old actress recently spoke to PEOPLE about how her work in education helped her shape her book. You can be a good friend (no matter what!).

“I’ve taught elementary school children. The highest grade I’ve substituted was maybe fourth grade,” Henson says. “The innocence is still there somehow and they just say what they think. I get a lot of my personality traits from children because they’re so honest and pure.”

She adds: “You want to know how to tell the truth? Study children.”

Related: Abbott Elementary School Teachers take on a sneaky squirrel in a new children’s book – see the cover! (Exclusive)

Henson’s educational background also played a role in her desire to Abbott Elementary School.

“It was so much fun, I mean, they just made me feel like part of the family,” Henson says of her guest appearance on the show. She further described her experience as “amazing, unbelievable.”

The star of the show, Quinta Brunson, and the rest of the cast also received high praise from the Oscar nominee.

“You come to work to laugh, and everyone does,” says Henson. “It’s just a wonderful cast. And I’m really proud of Quinta. I told her, ‘I’m always here for you. I support you.'”

In her new book, Henson explores feelings of alienation and the desire to fit in. These themes come from her own life, family and experiences, such as the line, “Honey catches more flies.”

“That’s what my grandmother and my mother always told me as a kid,” Henson says. “Especially with these kids and social media and the knee-jerk reaction of ‘Hit me, I’ll hit back.’ And it’s just that saying: If we lived by an eye for an eye, the whole world would be blind. So at some point, somebody has to step up.”

Henson’s relationship with her son, 30-year-old Marcell Johnson, and the choices she made in raising him had a major influence on the book, as did many other aspects of her career.

Related topics: Everything about Taraji P. Henson’s son Marcell Johnson

“When my son was trying to find his own style, he wanted to wear his pajama costumes to the grocery store, and I let him do that, and in his mind he was Batman or Spider-Man in the grocery store saving the day. Who am I to destroy that?” Henson asks. “We’re fighting for their innocence, and that’s why this book, that’s why it’s now, because I’m fighting to preserve the innocence.”

Henson hopes her book will inspire children to make the right choices and, as she puts it, to choose joy in everyday life.

You can be a good friend (no matter what!) is now available wherever books are sold.

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