A guest post by Nicci, mum to Nuwan, aged 2 years

I’m not an avid Bob Dylan fan, but found myself at a wonderful event at the Brunswick Music Festival last week. Kavisha Mazzella, Mike Cooper and Phil Manning played songs from Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. Many of Dylan’s songs (with amazing guitar work by Manning) were almost hypnotic, transporting me outside myself, and afterwards I realised about much how I want to give my children the opportunity to have music like this in their lives.

The next day, a new book caught my eye in a shop window: Forever Young by Bob Dylan, illustrated by Paul Rogers (published by Atheneum). The lyrics of one of Dylan’s most famous anthems have been adapted for the book, and Rogers has, thankfully, managed to avoid sentimentality. He has set the ‘story’ in New York, and each page appears a little like a stage set. The illustrations are flat and reminiscent of low-budget animation, which certainly adds to the sense of place, and could become a talking point with your child. But the words and the passion are timeless. Dylan apparently wrote the song thinking about one of his sons.

The illustrations follow a small boy who acquires a guitar from a folksinger and begins to practise. Via his music, he takes part in other activities such as a peace demonstration (May you have a strong foundation/When the winds of change shift). Then, as a young man, he passes his guitar on to a small girl . . . and the folk music traditions, and the song’s ideals, are perpetuated.

The book is suitable for ages 3–adult. Older Dylan fans will delight in picking out the many references to other Dylan songs (the windmill and the dandelion on the cover are references to ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’; and the big brass bed of ‘Lay Lady Lay’ also makes an appearance). I’d love to know of any other picture books based on popular songs.

An animated trailer for the book can be found here: