Beatles cartoon to hit book shelves

The Beatles' psychedelic cartoon The Yellow Submarine is being made into a children's book.

The book will hit the shops in September, 36 years after the original feature film was released in 1968.

A digitally restored version of the Sixties' cult classic was released on DVD in 1999.

The success of the DVD inspired The Beatles' company Apple Corps to team up with Walker Books for the new project.

An Apple spokesman said: "The Yellow Submarine was made as a psychedelic film in the Sixties, but it has had a timeless appeal, particularly for children, over the last four decades."

The Yellow Submarine single was released in 1966 and became a No 1 hit in the UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden.

It was translated into many languages, including Yiddish and Latin, and was taken up as an anti-war anthem by American activists opposing the war in Vietnam.

None of the Beatles provided the voices for their cartoon doubles in the film, artworked by Heinz Edelmann.

The new book comes as Sir Paul McCartney turns children's author.
The ex-Beatle has signed a deal to bring out High In The Clouds, described as "an urban fairytale about two squirrels and a frog whose home is destroyed by developers".