Jamie Lee Curtis Writes 7th Book

'Is There Really A Human Race?' Urges Children To Help Others

(CBS)  Jamie Lee Curtis is known for staring in movies like "Halloween" and "True Lies." She was born into a famous Hollywood family and is the daughter of film legends, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.

Most recently, however, she has been concentrating on writing children's books. Her seventh book, "Is There Really a Human Race?" encourages children to help others.

"This was born out of my little boy, Tom, now 10, coming home very upset asking me, 'Is there really a human race?' " she told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm. "And I feel like children are born with a number on their back, and they are in this race and we never really tell them the truth. It sort of made me think about competition, my own competition."

There is an illustration in the book of newborn babies lying in their cribs in the hospital, and each has some sort of symbol with them that represents what their parents want them to be: a weight-lifter, a jockey, an Oscar-winning actress. Curtis said she wondered if her drive to become a successful actress came from her parents and not from her own desires.

2"I sometimes wonder who was acting. Was it really me?" said Curtis, who won a Golden Globe for her performance in "True Lies." "We learn to separate ourselves from our parent and learn who we are … What am I interested in?"

Curtis said that she believes that healthy competition is constructive and that everyone should try his or her best, but it is a great disservice to children to try to impose your desires on them.

At the end of the book, the mother of the little boy asking all the questions says "Sometimes it's better not to go fast, there are beautiful sights to be seen when you are last."

The idea, Curtis said, is to get children to realize that in order to win the "human race" people should slow down and help each other along in order to make the world a better place.

"So it asks a question and it answers it," she said. "What can you do each day? Here we have a world filled with examples of where we can help. In our own country, Katrina, in our own city, homeless shelters ... environmental help. What can we do every day?"

To see one of the book's illustrations, click here.