Hoda Kotb Announces Next Career Move

Hoda Kotb drew inspiration from her youngest daughter for her new book, Hope Is A Rainbow, coming out on March 5, 2024. The TODAY host announced she had written her third children's book Wednesday, sharing that the new project was inspired by her 3-year-old daughter Hope, whom she adopted in 2019. Kotb, who is also mom to 6-year-old Haley, gushed over how her daughter reminds her to see "magic in everything" to TODAY.com.

Hope Is A Rainbow, which is illustrated by Chloe Dominique, shows Kotb's two daughters in a variety of settings as they search for symbols of hope. "Hope is a feeling ... It's finding your smile after wearing a frown ... and realizing YOU can turn things around. It's solving a problem and thinking it through. Anything's possible when you believe in YOU," the NBC anchor writes in the book.

"[Hope Is A Rainbow] was based on my daughter who, of course, I dreamt of her and hoped for her and her name just fell in," Kotb shared. "It just reminds me, and she reminds me, that hope is around every corner no matter what you go through, no matter what hardship you endure." Hope may just be a little girl, but she has an "old soul," which helps her see "magic in everything," her mom gushed. 

Hope has been drawn to rainbows since she was a baby. "A rainbow to me represents something that you can't quite touch, but it's magical and amazing. So when I thought about how I carry Hope in my heart, I realized, 'She IS a rainbow,'" Kotb shared. "She's this beautiful, magical, incredible child. It just got me thinking about all the things where kids find magic and hope, and this book is full of that."

While the book was written over a year ago, Kotb said her youngest daughter's February ICU stay taught her about hope in ways she never expected. "She has taught me that you're stronger than you think you are. She has that ability to be optimistic and hopeful no matter what kind of challenges lay before you," Kotb said. "She's taught me that resilience comes in all kinds of packages and that kids are incredibly strong. She's also taught me to find wonder in the smallest things."