It’s World Book Day today so I thought I’d share some cat themed books.

For the adults:

A Cat Called Norton: The True Story of an Extraordinary Cat and his Imperfect Human
The story of Norton is just adorable. I’ve not been able to read the last book though as the inevitable ending is too much to cope with, I don’t want to cry!

Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me about Life, Love, and Coming Clean
I’m a huge fan of Jackson and his book. You’ll need tissues though, be warned!

A Street Cat Named Bob
When I asked about favourite cat books on Facebook, James’ book was a clear winner.

For the kids:

Into the Wild (Warrior Cats, Book 1)
Ok, so this is a kids book series but I’ve read them all. It’s not all fluffy and cute, there are battles, hunting, drama and adventure. Great for kids who want an exciting story and love cats.

A HOME FOR MR TIPPS
I love the illustration style of Mr Tipps and the story is lovely. It reminds me a little of Oscar.

Meg and Mog
Meg and Mog books really remind me of my childhood. When I look at one I’m transported back in time. They are still great nearly 30 years since I first read them.

You might remember me posting about the TV series My Cat From Hell a few weeks ago. It’s a great programme with cat behaviour expert Jackson Galaxy. Jackson also has a book out – Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me about Life, Love, and Coming Clean and I read it last week.

The book isn’t just a book about cats, it’s Jackson’s story about how cats (and one in particular) helped him change his life. Jackson describes himself as broken; he was an addict and in a pretty bad place in life. His quest to improve the life of his cat Benny helped him to improve his own life and it is a very touching story. The last chapter had me in floods of tears and I don’t think anyone could read it without crying so be warned, you’ll need tissues!

I really admire the bravery of Jackson to write about such deep and personal issues and I’m glad he has. Before cats came into my life, I was broken. I was in such a dark place and was going nowhere. Pixie turned my life around, gave me something to live for. Looking after a tiny little kitten was what I needed to show me that life could be good. She filled my days (and still does) with love and fun. I’m really not sure I would still be here without Pixie, she saved my life. It’s because of this that I can relate to this book so much.

So whilst there are lots of great tips about cats and their behaviour in the book, if you’re looking for something that’s just a guide to cats then this is the wrong book for you. But, if you want to read about how these tiny little animals can have such huge impacts on the lives of people then it’s a great read. I am sure so many of you with cats can relate to how much cats enrich and improve our lives and this book shows how they really are little miracles.

Daz and I love photography, especially with lo-fi cameras like the Lomo LC-A, Supersampler and any other film cameras we can get our hands on. When our friend Adam asked if he could use some of our photos in his new book we were thrilled! Daz’s cow photo even made it to the cover.

Lo-fi Photo Fun!: Creative Projects for Polaroid, Plastic & Pinhole Cameras

It’s a really great books with lots of project ideas I want to try (and I will share the results when I do). For anyone who loves funky analogue photography this book is a must.

Look, there’s Arty!

And me!

And lots of Daz’s cow photos.

Madeleine Floyd is most well known for her bird illustrations. She did however, also create a wonderful picture book called Captain’s Purr. It’s a lovely story and the illustrations are just wonderful. I really like her style.

I love the way she captures sleepy cat poses so well.

Cat vs. Cat: Keeping Peace When You Have More Than One Cat

When Oscar first started hanging around our garden there was a lot of friction between him and our existing cats Pixie and Arty. Getting him neutered really helped as he stopped trying to get in fights with everything that moved. We took the process of integrating him into our household very slowly and I’m pleased to say that it worked really well.

I got this book after a lot of the introducing had been done but it confirmed what we had already been doing as right and also gave us lots of tips to help the process continue to go smoothly. It was a really interesting read, especially the parts about the hierarchy of cats in a group and how they co-exist in a home setting.

If you’re thinking about introducing a new cat to your family I think that reading this will really help. I know so many people who have got a new cat and it’s all gone wrong with lots of fights and unhappiness for both cats and humans. It is so important to take the process slowly and respect that cats don’t like change, especially when it’s forced upon them all at once.

Yesterday for the first time, all three cats sat on the bed together, with me. I was so happy to see them like that, it really made my day. There is still the odd hiss here and there but no fights and they all get on pretty well. I don’t think they’ll ever be the kind of cats who snuggle up together but I don’t mind, it means more snuggles with me!

I’m a bit addicted to pretty arts and crafts books so I just had to have this book Zenspirations: Letters & Patterning when I saw it. I really love doodling patterns but often struggle when it comes to lettering. I love the way this book is laid out and it has so much inspiration packed in.

Of course I read it and then straight away drew a cat inspired by the lessons in the book.

I read Dewey: The Small-town Library-cat Who Touched the World back in 2009 and loved it. Dewey was dropped into the book return night-box one cold night. Luckily he was found by caring library staff who took it upon themselves to look after the poor little kitten. He soon claimed the library as his home and had a wonderful effect on the locals. It’s such a heart warming story and one that is sure to bring a tear to your eye (like so many of these books).

I was delighted to discover in our local Waterstones yesterday that his story has been made into a picture book, Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library! (Picture Book Edition). Obviously they couldn’t go in-depth about his story in this book but it is still charming and lovely. What a great cat Dewey was.

A Cat Called Norton: The True Story of an Extraordinary Cat and his Imperfect Human is such a wonderful book about a gorgeous little cat called Norton. Norton lives a live unlike most other cats, in fact you could say he lives more like a dog. He goes out with his owner on walks, trips around the country, even abroad on planes. Peter Gethers takes Norton pretty much everywhere with him and Norton loves it. I am sure most people would be terrified at the idea of taking their cat away from home, scared that they’d get lost or run away. Norton does no such thing. He might wander off and go on his own little adventures but when it’s time to go home he’s always there, ready and waiting. I have to admit I’m jealous! When I see people out with their dogs I think how wonderful it must be to have your best friends with you all the time. The fact that it is possible to do with a cat is mind-boggling to me. Even though I’ve had Pixie and Arty since they were tiny, I don’t think they could even have adapted to such a life, they’re too wimpy! Oscar is far more likely to be able to cope with it but I’d be too scared that he’d wander off and I’d never see him again.

For the Love of Norton: The Cat who Taught his Human How to Live, the second book in the trio is equally awesome as Norton goes on adventures even further afield, including Europe.

I haven’t dared to read the final book in the trio Forever Norton: The Perfect Cat, his Flawed Human and Life’s Greatest Lesson because of the inevitable that happens to all of our animal friends. I cried and cried when I read Marley and Me and I don’t think I could cope reading about little Norton passing. I like to remember the books as a happy little adventuring cat and his human friend.

This week we started to work out what we are going to do for our final piece (a double page spread). I enjoyed creating the storyboards so much that I’ve decided to do a comic book style spread. I like to draw small so putting lots of images on one page makes a lot more sense to me than making one big picture. I started working on the style this week. Now I have to think about layout.

This book, Making Comics is my new bible, it’s awesome. I might write a proper review of it. It had amazing reviews on Amazon and now I know why!

I’ve posted about Simon’s Cat before but just had to tell you about his new book Simon’s Cat 3 – Kitten Chaos that arrived in the post at the weekend. It stars the usual cat plus a kitten which causes so much mischief. It’s hilarious! I don’t know how he does it, coming up with so many funny drawings. Daz and I both laughed out loud so many times as we looked through it.

I think what I love about the book is that it reminds me of four and a half years ago when Arty came into our lives. It was so funny how such a tiny little kitten could turn our world upside down.

Check out www.simonscat.com for more awesomeness.