Death of mum inspired Jennifer Love Hewitt's new book

The death of Jennifer Love Hewitt's mum inspired the actress to write a children's book about dead grandparents.

The mother-of-two tells Working Mother magazine she wanted to pay tribute to the grandma her kids would never know and came up with the book idea.

"There are not a lot of books out there that, in a childlike way, teach children about deceased grandparents," the I Know What You Did Last Summer star explains. "I think that’s an important book because people are having children later in life."

Jennifer's mum, Patricia, lost her battle with cancer in 2012, over a year before her daughter welcomed her first child, daughter Autumn James, with husband Brian Hallisay.

The couple has since added a son to the family.

The actress tells the publication she loves being a mum and admits returning to TV as a regular on drama 9-1-1 was really tough, because it was the first time she had to leave her little ones at home.

"The first four episodes, there was a lot of trying to be present and then constantly checking for the world to be falling apart around me," she says. "A couple of days went long, so I wasn’t home to put them (kids) to bed. It was my first time not doing that, so (my) lip would quiver, and there were some tears."

Jennifer has joined the second season of the hit show, replacing Connie Britton's emergency services telephone operator.