Hey Grandude!

Hanging out with grandad turns out to be anything but boring after he pulls out a very special compass and takes everyone on a magical mystery tour. A "gray and drizzly" day takes a series of exciting turns for Lucy, Tom, Em, and Bob--a racially diverse quartet of sibs (or maybe cousins) in Durst's fluid, informal cartoon scenes--after grizzled Grandude strides into the room. He has a compass that transports him and the "Chillers" with a "zing, bang, sizzle" to a beach, a desert, and a Swiss mountainside. Like the economical text, which aside from a quick refrain is all in prose, experiences at each stop take on a certain pattern as the children thrice enjoy their new setting but then need a quick spin of the compass to escape a flood of pinchy red crabs, mount horses but narrowly avoid a bison stampede, then abandon a picnic to clamber atop an obliging flying cow when an avalanche threatens. Despite the allusive title (and the "Grandude" moniker, which McCartney admits he cribbed from his own grandkids) there's no sign of the self-absorption that often rides celebrity picture books. Ultimately, the genial tour guide, who is white but otherwise looks nothing like the author and even plays guitar right-handed, spins the compass one final time to deliver the weary Chillers back home. Readers will roll up for repeats, and not just because of the name on the cover. (Picture book. 5-8)

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October 14, 2019
Inspired by McCartney’s own nickname and featuring a titular wink toward the Beatles’ “Hey Jude,” this picture book debut from the musical icon hits all the right notes in the tale of a cool grandfather, his magical compass, and his grandchildren: Lucy, Tom, Em, and Bob. The “Chillers,” as Grandude dubs the foursome, are visiting for the weekend, but gloomy weather is thwarting their fun—“everybody was grumpy and too bored to be bothered.” Enter Grandude with zingy green backpack, a handful of postcards and, like Mary Poppins before him, a mystical compass. The family rides flying fish, horses, and airborne cows in various locales, narrowly evading danger each time before being whisked to the next destination. An energetic refrain (“See the compass needle spin,/ let the magic fun begin!”) and an onomatopoeic arpeggio (“Zing, bang, sizzle... everything changed!”) set the pace for each brisk adventure—until Grandude sees the children home and tucked in for bed. Durst’s colorful illustrations enliven the narrative with cartoon details and scrawled textures. An entertaining, if familiar, debut. Ages 4–6.

October 18, 2019

PreS-Gr 2-McCartney regales readers with the tale of a granddad who possesses a magical compass. Waving the compass over a postcard and muttering a special phrase, "See the compass needle spin, let the magic fun begin," Grandude and his grandchildren are transported to beautiful beaches, the wild West, and the rolling hills beneath the Alps. Yet no majestic location is without its faults, and eventually the family returns home for bedtime. McCartney's story is whimsical and fun, filled with pleasing alliteration and onomatopoeia. Older readers will nod in appreciation at the title, a clever play on the Beatles song, "Hey Jude." Grandude calls his grandchildren "Chillers," and the warm relationship between the grandfather and his grandkids is touching. Durst's illustrations are playful, bright, and detailed, filling the pages and encapsulating the magic of the time-traveling story. VERDICT This is a lovely story for readers who enjoy adventure and love their grandparents; it will surely be a hit with McCartney's fans.-Kaitlin Malixi, Kensington Health Sciences Academy, Philadelphia

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