Germans write children’s book featuring Bono and the U2 boys

IT WAS a beautiful day for two German U2 fans in Dublin last week when they introduced their new children’s book featuring Bono as the main character to the band’s fans.

Andre and Melanie Thyret have followed the famous Northside foursome for decades so when they began writing a book for their two daughters they decided the U2 lads would be perfect characters.

The end result is ‘Cedarwood’, a wonderfully simple tale for children that will resonate with anybody who loves U2, and especially with Northsiders as the story begins in the Finglas estate where Bono grew up.

Written in Irish and English, it features cartoon illustrations of Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry around Dublin at the Phoenix Park, Grand Canal Docks and the Poolbeg Chimneys.

It’s not an official U2 publication but all proceeds from sales go to RED, the AIDS charity co-founded by Bono.

The couple were in Dublin last week to see the band perform the Dublin leg of their iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE tour and to promote their book at the Little Museum of Dublin.

Andre (41) first became obsessed with U2 after hearing about the band’s 1989 New Year’s Eve concert at the Point Depot. 

“It was broadcast all over Europe and my friends and I taped it and we were listening to it every day,” he says. “It was fantastic.”

Melanie (40) was introduced to the band by her older brother who constantly played ‘With or Without You’ when it was released. She became hooked by ‘Achtung Baby’ but admits her husband is the bigger fan.

That was a point illustrated when they visited Cedarwood Road last week to see the house Bono grew up in and were invited in by its current owners, the Ryan family.

“Mrs Ryan asked me did I want to go upstairs to see Bono’s old bedroom but I said it was OK.

“I think it’s just a room with a bed but Andre went up and was sitting there with tears in his eyes,” she laughed.

Andre has seen his musical heroes 25 times, the first in Dortmund during the early ‘90s and one of the best in Los Angeles in 1997 when he got to meet the band.

U2 has provided the soundtrack to his life and one album in particular has had a profound effect.

“It might sound silly or a bit strange but I think ‘Achtung Baby’ really influenced my creativity and made me a different person,” he says.

Like many parents, Andre and Melanie read a lot to their daughters but they noticed a lot of children’s books and traditional fairy tales featured violence and abuse.

They decided to produce their own for daughters Mavie and Leni, and instead of writing about wicked stepmothers, big bad wolves or kidnapped children they wrote a tale of innocence.

“We decided it would be a simple and positive story, just for them,” says Melanie.

Initially, the couple wanted to share the book with friends so Andre decided to base the characters on Bono, Adam, The Edge and Larry as many of their pals are U2 fans.

“Then I thought we might attract a lot of people of our age because lots of the fans are the same age as us and many of them are parents now,” he said.

Deciding what charity would benefit from the book was easy. Red is close to the heart of U2 but even though they aren’t profiting from sales, Andre and Melanie were worried about what the fans would think.

“We were very scared when we finalised the book,” Andre admits. “The U2 fan base is very big and they are very loyal but they are also very critical.”

However, they had nothing to worry about. ‘Cedarwood’ has been well received and while they’ve heard nothing official from the band Red and One (the U2 backed anti poverty campaign) are happy with the book.

“We’ve had no negative feedback at all,” says Andre. “It’s been great.

“We’ve seen pictures of U2 signing our books and posters. It’s funny to see.”

The hardback version of ‘Cedarwood’ is in both English and Irish and costs €25. A paperback English only version is available for €5 and a set of five postcards featuring illustrations from the book also costs €5. All are available online at www.cedarwood-book.com