What I read in March

Our favourite picture books this month were Forever Young by Bob Dylan – the song’s lyrics with wonderful illustrations by Paul Rogers – which led to Joe asking to watch Dylan videos on YouTube.

The Dot and Ish by Peter H Reynolds – I love Reynolds’ books. These two are about creativity, about not being afraid to paint a picture, even if you can only do a dot or even if the vase you paint is only vase-ish. Inspiring for me as well as for Joe.

Also inspiring is Girl With a White Dog by Anne Booth. I’ve been desperate to read this – Anne is a Twitter friend and one of the kindest, most compassionate people I follow. I knew her book would be wonderful and it is.

For the same age group, but completely different is Sesame Seade: Sleuth on Skates by Clémentine Beauvais. I flew through this book. It’s clever and silly and funny and smart and it made me laugh out loud.

I didn’t read much YA this month (because I’m writing it), but I did read Boys Don’t Knit by Tom Easton. And I loved it. So funny. Really looking forward to the next book in the series.

I read an advance copy of Keep Your Friends Close by Paula Daly and loved it. I don’t really read crime – too chicken – but Paula’s books are so gripping with wonderful, complex, characters and a fantastic sense of place.

I admit I’ve got a smidge of a crush on Chris Hadfield, so I was excited to get my hands on An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth. And it was wonderful. I quoted it so much that David started to get a smidge jealous.

I really enjoyed Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon. It’s a short, quick read, but full of interesting and entertaining tips on how to get your work out there. I’m planning to use it as a guide for a blog series in the near future.