The title of Best Mom Ever has officially been won. Julie made her babies these Star Trek and Star Wars felt activity books. With a couple of tribbles, er, quibbles, I have to say these are possibly the only books a toddler could ever need. Now I understand the hipster fetish for Mormon Mommy Blogs. Sign me up for adoption.

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Alpha’s ReMade is an Upcycling project whereby only found materials (in this case printed paper, magazines, envelopes) are used to make pocket-sized notebooks. Reusing waste material before finally recycling it.

This made-to-order ‘X’ bookshelf by Ais Design Studio can be wall mounted or rested on the floor. Designer Andreas Achniotis Perales often uses his trademark X in interior projects, either as a product or as an applied print.

Able Miss Baker and friends are taking over the ₤1000 Pound Bend gallery space on Melbourne’s Little Londsdale Street and turning into an enormous cardboard wonderland city installation, complete with a maze and an infinite forest. The city isn’t just an installation. It’s also as sturdy as it is massive and has been made for playing on and in by anyone who wants to celebrate. The event kicks off September 23.

You know that man on the stairs of the local town hall? The one bellowing Mr Tambourine Man at the top of his lungs with rag doll in hand and wearing a lilac jumper, pungent with the aroma of week-old sandwich? Most of us would call him a beggar, a tramp, a hobo; Bob Dylan would say that he had just stepped out of a folk ballad. He would tell us that he knew that this man had a story, a history and possessed bravery. And we all know that bravery is what makes a folk hero. In Chronicles: Volume One, Dylan guides us through the rumble tumble world that is his New York. It is a place that is teetering on the brink of reinvention, only to be held back by the dark confusing days of the 1950s.

It’s not a really nice place, but I found myself wandering in and revelling in it. The way that Dylan leads us, prods us, lures us into this mean crazy world is through the pentamater of his tone and the timbre of his voice. He writes his books like he writes his songs; he is only concerned by the beat of the story and how he is going to tell it to the world.

Factually, this story is not complete, but it becomes irrelevant when you consider why we are there; like how Woodie Guthrie drew Robert Allen Zimmerman from the backwaters of Minnesota to the bright lights of New York, we are drawn to Chronicles by Bob Dylan. We are there to find out who he is, what makes him tick and the journey he took to discover it.

He gives us that.

It doesn’t always make sense, but who cares – it’s his life, it’s his story and it’s a whacking good read.

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In a twist on the top places to see before you die, guidebook giants Frommers have released the more ominous publication, 500 Places To See Before They Disappear. The point they are trying to drill home is that, such is the rapid pace of change in the world — whether environmental or due to urban growth — that there are established and recognised places that may well die before you do. What’s interesting is that, with climate change dominating headline news on an almost daily basis, a new market has opened up for eco-friendly or environmentally sympathetic products such as this which play on people’s concerns and their need to ‘do something’. It’s being seen on many fronts, from architecture to tourism, to domestic products.

Whether you’re a sequential artist, fine artist, illustrator, or a fan, the Swedish anthology C’est Bon will definitely light a fire in any creative spirit in need of some inspiration. The latest issue, Vol. 5, exhibits amazing talents from around the world, talents that I am humbly honored to be rubbing elbows with. They include Andrea Bruno, Emeilie Ostergren, and Marko Turunen, to name a few.

With President Bush’s exit from the White House just months away, commemorate our 43 head of state’s illustrious eight years in office with the George W. Bush coloring book! Yes. These books have memorable illustrations with quotes to remind you of all the notable remarks he made regarding race, international affairs, economics, religion, and more. No need to color in the lines, this is a great way to show your respect to the leader whose tenure produced the Iraq War and the Patriot Act. Illustrator Karen Ocker took pains to capture the look of courage under fire and sought out quotations to exemplify Bush’s legacy.

Mother’s Day is coming up. If you’re still at a loss for what to give the person who gave birth to you, maybe Dr. Michael Salzhauer can help. Dr. Salzhauer is a plastic surgeon, you see, and this May 11th, his first children’s book is set to hit the stores. The book is about a mother who explains to her young daughter that she wants to get cosmetic surgery to make her “prettier.” The moral of the story is: why be contented with your mommy as she is when you can have a mommy with bigger boobs?

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I started reading a very funny book over the weekend by the English writer Toby Young called The Sound Of No Hands Clapping. Brilliant. Never has a title been so apt as Young bumbles his way through the fickle Hollywood movie industry. It’s an excellent study in human nature. And a mighty big whack to to the shallowness of the celluloid world along the way. [illustration by Cecilia Carlstedt]