Jessica Biel to Publish Kids Book About Periods: ‘We Need to Normalize the Discussion’ (Exclusive)

Jessica Biel is ready to teach young people that periods are nothing to be ashamed of.

The star of The Sinner announced, exclusively with PEOPLE, that she is publishing her debut children’s book. A Kids Book About Periods will be published by A Kids Co. and DK Children this spring. The book seeks to de-stigmatize the topic of menstruation for young readers.

"People don't talk enough about periods,” Biel tells PEOPLE. “I’ve always felt strongly that we need to normalize the discussion around periods and as a parent, writing this book felt like an organic way to engage kids in the conversation from early on.”

According to a statement shared with PEOPLE, Biel wrote A Kids Book About Periods as a way to begin “important conversations” about periods and the human body with a new generation. The book intends to teach children, and encourage conversation, about the normalcy of menstruation, as well as the changes that come with growing up in general,.

The book is created in partnership with PERIOD., a nonprofit organization that strives to end “period poverty and stigma” through education and advocacy. Five percent of the proceeds from each book sold will go to PERIOD.

A Kids Book About Periods isn’t the first time that Biel has opened up about menstruation. In a March 5 Instagram video, the actress looked back on the moment she had her first period, before she was set to perform in a school play.

"I was so scared,” she recalled. “I locked myself in the bathroom. I was crying hysterically, I called my mom. I told her, you know, 'something's wrong.' That's what I felt, I felt like something was wrong with me. Even though she had prepared me, I wasn't prepared.”

The actress added that, “I managed to do everything I needed to do that day and still have my period, so pass that around."

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Biel, who shares sons Silas, 8, and Phineas, 3, with husband Justin Timberlake, says that she hopes the book will help children to feel a sense of authority over their bodies.

“Together with A Kids Co. and PERIOD., I’m excited to share my first book with everyone – A Kids Book About Periods!” she continues. “If we grownups have the confidence to tell the truth about how our bodies work, then we'll give the kids around us the agency and voice to talk about their own bodies with confidence, now and for the rest of their lives."

A Kids Book About Periods will hit shelves on May 14 and is available for pre-order wherever books are sold.