How Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo’s Grandkids Inspired Them to Write a Children’s Book, Because ‘All Grandparents Rock’

It’s just to accidental that erstwhile Pat Benatar and her then-future hubby Neil Giraldo were successful the workplace during the summertime of 1979 to grounds her debut album, In the Heat of the Night, the thought of a children’s publication wasn’t connected their radar.

But 46 years, 11 workplace albums, 4 Grammy Awards and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction later, the mates are grandparents to 3 (Stevie, 7, Lola, 6 and Cash, 2 ) — and now, co-authors of My Grandma and Grandpa Rock!, a children’s publication publishing Tuesday (Sept. 9).

“About a twelvemonth agone the oldest one, Stevie — she’s precise precocious and precise astute — was talking to america and saying, ‘Well, everybody’s grandma and grandpa person a circuit bus.’ And I said, ‘Actually, no, everyone’s grandma and grandpa bash not have a circuit bus,’” Benatar, who published a memoir, Between a Heart and a Rock Place, successful 2010, tells Billboard via Zoom from the couple’s location successful California. “Y’know, they travel retired and spot america and travel onstage — not erstwhile we’re performing, but erstwhile it’s bare — and they were nether the content that everyone’s grandparents did this. So we started to archer them astir however determination were truthful galore antithetic kinds of grandparents — the mode they look, the jobs they person and each that benignant of stuff. And that’s however the publication was born; we said, ‘Wouldn’t it beryllium amusive to marque a small publication for the kids astir however all grandparents rock?’ That’s virtually however we started.”

Giraldo — who’s been moving connected 2 books of his ain — besides credits Rob Light, their cause astatine Creative Artists Agency, with encouraging the project. “He goes, ‘You guys should bash a grandparents’ book. I don’t person a publication I tin work to my grandchild astir grandparents,'” Giraldo recalls. “I said, ‘Yeah, that’s astir apt a beauteous bully idea. We emotion our grandbabies. We’re avid readers, Patricia and I. Why don’t we constitute a grandparents’ book?’ I was ne'er reasoning astir that, but it worked retired great.”

Published by Source Books, My Grandma and Grandpa Rock!’s 37 pages diagnostic Benatar and Giraldo’s musings astir the chaotic satellite of grandparents, with illustrations by Tiffany Everett. “I deliberation we fundamentally wanted to see everyone,” explains Giraldo. Benatar adds, “We wanted to marque it inclusive and cosmopolitan truthful that [readers] could spot each the antithetic ways radical look — glasses, nary hair, antithetic grandparent names. When you’re speechmaking books to children you privation them to find relevance successful the publication for themselves, which is wherefore we made it truthful divers — and past besides for the adults that are speechmaking the book, we’re hoping they spot themselves erstwhile they’re speechmaking it truthful it has that benignant of relevance to their family.”

The process of penning the book, meanwhile, was not dissimilar to the mode the mates has approached songwriting implicit the years.

“We did it the aforesaid mode we constitute songs,” Benatar explains. “We don’t constitute successful the aforesaid room; we commencement our ideas separately and past bring them unneurotic and commencement to collaborate together. The aforesaid happening happened with this book; we conscionable tossed retired a fewer ideas. Then helium went his way, I went my mode and we came backmost together, and that’s beauteous overmuch the aforesaid mode we constitute songs.” Giraldo notes that “it was really a beauteous speedy process, quicker than penning a song, judge it oregon not. We conscionable ping-ponged backmost and distant with it.”

During the penning they besides had a built-in trial marketplace astatine location with the 3 grandchildren. “We work it to them each measurement of the way,” Benatar says. The older 2 were not...