Alumnus Tad Druart publishes children's book

Newman alumnus Tad Druart ’87 said being a pushover isn’t such a bad thing. At least when it comes to being a grandparent.

Druart documented his experience in the newly released children’s book, “How to Manipulate Grandpa: A Toddler’s Guide to Living the Good Life,” with the help of Eleanor, his 4-year-old granddaughter and original manipulator in question.

Druart said it all started when Eleanor was 2.

“The family came to visit us and I just realized she had me wrapped around her finger. And I love every minute of it.”

Another visit just a couple months later, Eleanor continued her tactics.

Druart explained, “She hollered my name and came running, and dodged my wife to come to me. That got me a dirty look, but it’s proof that Eleanor knows exactly how to manipulate me.”

After that visit, Druart decided to list all the ways he was being manipulated. When he began the list, he started writing from his point of view. But as he was coming up with his top 10, the narrative ended up being from Eleanor’s point of view.

About a year after writing the list, Druart had changed jobs and found he had a little more time on his hands. After some encouragement from family and friends, he decided to revisit the list and turn it into a fun project.

“The writing and editing of the book only took about three weeks,” said Druart. “But the illustration was a much longer process. A friend of mine had just finished publishing an academic book through Palmetto Publishing and encouraged me to dig further. After a few conversations, it made sense to work with them.”

The publishing company introduced him to illustrator Nikki Boetger, who worked her magic and brought Druart’s story to life with artwork. After seeing the book cover, Eleanor noticed that the little girl on the cover was wearing a crown.

“She saw the cover and said, ‘That’s not me. I don’t have a crown.’ So I had to go buy her a crown that looked the same. Once again, I was manipulated.”

Druart said working with the publisher has been a great help. His book was released July 30 on nearly 100 book-selling sites, including Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. He said having the publisher handle all the distribution was a lifesaver.

He’s looking forward to doing some book-signing events and plans to bring Eleanor along to a few.

“When an author is 4 years and 8 months old, she’s just learning how to write her name. But she is excited to sign books,” said Druart.

The book has inspired other ways to engage readers. Druart launched a website, HowToManipulateGrandpa.com, to correlate with the book, and in August, he will launch a podcast titled “Grand Dads.”

The website has fun anecdotes, a blog, “manipulate moments,” and more. Druart said the publisher recommended creating the site and he uses the space to engage with readers, add new and funny stories and hopefully inspire grandparents with new ways to interact with their grandchildren.

Druart said he’s especially excited for the podcast, adding that several Newman alumni will be interviewed as a part of the project.

“It aims to celebrate the wisdom, experiences and heartwarming stories of fathers and grandfathers and pass along insights and ideas to other fathers and grandfathers as we strive for our kids and grandkids to live the good life — no matter their ages. We believe that every dad and grandpa have a unique journey to share.”

Druart is enjoying the process and said he doesn’t look to “get rich off this book. I really just want my granddaughter, and all my grandkids, to have something fun to look back on when they’re older. To be able to say they were in a book and inspired the book.

“Someday when I’m not around, it’ll be something to remember me by, and some of the things we did together.”