'Hey Grandude!' Paul McCartney explains how his own grandchildren helped inspired his new kids' book

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Random House Books for Young Readers

Hey Grandude!, Paul McCartney‘s new children’s book about a super-cool grandfather who, thanks to his magic compass, is able to take his grandkids on wondrous adventures, is available now.

McCartney tells BBC News that the book was inspired by a nickname one of his grandchildren gave him.

“One of my grandkids…just happened one day to say ‘Grandude’ and it kind of stuck,” Sir Paul explains. “So the other kids started calling me ‘Grandude,’ and I thought, ‘It’s kind of cute…It’s kind of a fun thing.’ So I wrote a couple of little stories of this character, Grandude, and I imagined him as a sort of eccentric, groovy old guy who was magic.”

Describing Grandude, McCartney notes, “He’s got a gray beard, a little bit of a ponytail — so he’s a little bit groovy — he has a little hat and a bow tie. And he has this magic compass, so when he rubs that, you can go anywhere.”

McCartney maintains that the character isn’t supposed to be him, although the two share some similarities. For instance, Grandude plays a bit of guitar for his grandkids, something McCartney admits doing with his own grandchildren.

Sir Paul also reveals to BBC News that, like him, his grandkids love music and all can “hold a tune.” He says some of them sing in their school choir, and one is a guitar player in a band. That being said, McCartney points out that he doesn’t push them to consider playing music professionally.

As previously reported, McCartney himself reads the audio version of Hey Grandude! and created some original music to accompany his narration.

Meanwhile, Paul will be at a Waterstones bookstore in London’s Piccadilly neighborhood today at 4 p.m. local time to take part in a previously announced signing event.

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