October 31, 2000 – This spring, award-winning actor/musician Will Smith will publish Just the Two of Us (Scholastic; May 2001; $16.95), a picture book based on Will Smith's award-winning hit song written for his son.

"We are pleased to be able to support Will's desire to express his commitment and values – his thoughtful way of giving back to his community, family and fans," said Jean Feiwel, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Scholastic Books. "Just the Two of Us perfectly expresses a love, warmth and humor that all families will relate to."

A picture book that celebrates the joy of fatherhood, Just the Two of Us is a call to all fathers to teach their children the values of dignity, integrity and honor. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson, whose past illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated and The New Yorker, the artwork in Just the Two of Us follows a father/son relationship through three critical times of life – from newborn, to young child, to a young man.

Just the Two of Us is the first in a multi-book contract between Scholastic, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. The deal includes two series and individual picture books and is the couple's first book-publishing venture.

This November, Will Smith stars in the film The Legend of Bagger Vance directed by Robert Redford, and in January he begins filming the bio pic Ali directed by Michael Mann.

Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. Since 1920, Scholastic has created quality educational materials for schools and has expanded its reach to include the distribution of books, software, toys, online learning services and television programming directly to the home. Internationally, Scholastic operates wholly owned companies in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom.