What we're reading

Oh No George, by Chris Haughton, is the endearing tale of George the dog and Harris his owner. George wants to be good but it's hard - there's a cat to chase, a cake to eat, soil to dig - what will George do? This is one the last books I worked on before going on maternity leave and a favourite of mine.

The illustrations kind of remind me of Not Now, Bernard (a classic in my household - does anyone else remember it?) - they are graphic, minimal and fun. The expressions on George's face will raise a laugh with old and young alike (although don't stop Elizabeth from licking the pages - there will be tears) and children will easily identify with George's dilemmas.

Oh No George is just the right length for Elizabeth, any longer and she'd be fidgety. She is captivated by the bright colours and bold illustrations, but obviously the plot is a bit lost on her...she has that to look forward to. I'm sure this is one we'll read over and over again.

...and I actually completed a book not aimed at under 3s! Grace Grace Coddington's memoir. Grace is a model turned fashion editor turned creative director of US Vogue (basically Grace is Vogue), made famous by The September Issue. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's very fashion-y, but told from Grace's unique perspective, not too pretentious.  Her life has been incredible - traveling from a rural Welsh island to swinging 60's London to 80's New York, via Vidal Sassoon, Calvin Klein and Anna Wintour. It is a great, accessible history of fashion through the last half of the 20th century and, best of all, explains the creation of some of my favourite images from 5 decades of Vogue. Plus there are lots of pictures, good if you haven't read a book for 6 months...