Perhaps not as well-known in North America, British author Michael Rosen is a star. He is smartHe has written over 200 books including titles for children and adults. My first introduction to the author was his first poetry anthology for young people entitled Mind Your Own Business followed by Wouldn’t You Like to Know. The picture book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury (1989) would likely be considered hs most popular book. From 2007 to 2009 he was appointed Children’s Laureate. Some recent publications that I acquired convey the range of his talent: One Day: A True story of courage and survival in the Holocaust, illustrated by Benjamin Phjillips (picture book); Out of this World (poems to make uyou laugh, smile and think) and two staggering autobiographical accounts about his near death experiences surviving coronavirus; Getting Better: Life Lessons On, Going Under, Getting Over it and Working through It and Many Kinds of Love: a story of life, death and the NHS. Rosen is a journalist, a BBC broadcaster, a professor of Children’s Literature at Goldsmiths (University of London), an activist. I can’t keep up with the author’s R prolific oeuvre and would sure like like to have any/all of Rosen’s work in my reading brain, but I am so grateful to be able dig into any new releases such as Good Days. Years ago, I met Michael Rosen on a trip to Toronto when he came to participate in the Ontario Ministry’s rich Oracy Research project (David Booth, Richard Courtney, Gordon Wells). I enthusiastically applaud Michael Rosen’s talent, storytelling, perseverance, intelligence, and humanity. And heart. You are a true hero, Mr. Rosen. Bravo!
>>> PICTURE BOOKS
CHOCOLATE CAKE by Michael Rosen; ill. Kevin Waldron / 2017
Michael Roaen’s story poems are wonderful evocatioins of childhood experiences. Chocolate Cake tells the story of a young boy addicted to this divine dessert. One night he wakes up and heads to the kitchen to just taste a crumb of cake and one crumb leads to another and another until the whole cake, of course, disappears. This picture book, with its vibrant, comical illustrations by Kevin Waldron, fun font displays on several pages (e..g. A- HA-HA! Gobble! Mmmm. Gobble!) and clever use of thought balloons (“yeah, its all right, OK.’) make for a delightful delicious read. Oh, how I love chocolate cake!
OH DEAR, LOOK WHAT I GOT! illus. Helen Oxenbury/ 2025
In April, 2026, it was announced that Michael Rosen was the recipient of the Hans Christian Anderson Award for his huge contribution to children’s literature. Well-deserved, I’d say!
The award-winning picture book, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by the brilliant team, Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury was published in the year 1989 and has since sold more than 9 million copies worldwide. in 2025, author, Rosen and illustrated Helen Oxenbury teamed up once again to produce a terrific picture book that is a sensational creation, is the perfect read-aloud story (that warrants many repeated re-visiting). The story involves a young boy who goes from shop hoping to get such ordinary items – a hat, a coat, a cake, a chair but each time is surprised (and disappointed) to be presented with an animal and the menagerie grows and grows, following the boy. This is another brilliant publication filled with the unexpected, told with a rollicking refrain pattern and filled with amusing illustrations. This title is ideal for the ‘me read to you’, ‘let’s read together’, ‘you read to me experience’ Rosen and Oxenbury have done it again with another perfect picture book.
I went to the shop
to get me a cake.
Oh dear, they gave me…
a snake
Oh dear,
look what I got!
Do I want that?
No, I do NOT.
THIS IS OUR HOUSE; illus. Bob Graham / 1996 /2005
George has all kinds of reasons (excuses) why others can’t join him his cardboard playhouws (“This house is all for me!”) Selfish, mean George won’t let others because the house isn’t for girls, isnt for small people, isn’t for twins, isn’t for people with glasses. This is the perfect book to consider the world of child play and the concept of exclusion – and inclusion.
ONE DAY: A True Story of Survival in the Holocaust, illus. Benjamin Phillips /2025
Acclaimed British author and poet, Michael Rosen was commissioned to write this story to honour the 2022 commemmoratiobn of Holocaust Memorial Day. The title One Day (repeated throughout) was chosen as the title since the phrase was the motto for that year. Assuming the voice of Eugene Handschuh, Rosen tells the tstory of French citizens who deported Jews From Paris to Auschwitz. Based on research and interviews we learn yet another story about the horrors of the Holocaust when French Jews were being deported not knowing and the people in France had no news of what was happening to the Jews. Eugene Hanschuch was one of those Jews who, along with his father survived teh war. Michael Rosen’s aunt and uncle were on the very same convoy as Handschuh but they didn’t come return from the prison camp. Michael Rosen tells this story with clarity and poignancy. The monochromatic art work by Benhamin Phillips is staggering by capturing images of arrests, starvation, harsh work, attempts to escape through a tunnel interrogation and massive crowds of scared and screaming men, women and children whos lives were changed ‘one day’ and get through’ the day and then on to he next. One day at a time. One day after another”. Writing these words is giving me goosebumps. This isa masterful picture book publication by a masterful author a illustrator and about a true story about the Holocaust catastrophe. What a book!
STICKY McSTICKSTICK : the friend who helped me walk again; illus. Tony Ross / 2021
A hearetfelt and humourous account of Rosen’s recovery fom Covid and his eventual return to his family with the support, guidance and friendship of walking stick which the poet names Sticky McStickStick. This story gave Michael Rosen the opportunity to pay tribute to an artifact which gave him the strength to move on, step by step.
Death Loss and Remembrance
‘Death Loss and Remembrance’ may be considered a tough topic to engage young readers with but there are many picture books and novels that have been written to help readers deal with loss and grief (see Teaching Tough Topics, Chapter 78). Award-winning British author Michael Rosen lost his son, Eddie. The picture book The Sad Book was a way for Rosen to deal with and share the sorrow and sadness he experienced when his son died. . Years have passed and Where Are You, Eddie? provided the author to write another heartwarming story of remembrance and acceptance..
THE SAD BOOK illus. Quentin Blake / 2004
Michael Rosen’s son, Eddie suddenly died from menangitis in 1999 at the age of 18. The Sad Book is Michael Rosen’s artistic expression about the grief over Eddie’s passing. Though a personal story, the picture book speaks to everyone who knows what it’s like to feel deeply sad. This is an exceptional, heart-squeezing reflection about sadness, anger, and even laughter. Quentin Blake’s illustrations provide a masterful representation of the author’s feelings and memories.
Excerpts
“What makes me most sad is when I think about my son Eddie. He died. I loved him very, very much but he died anyway.
“Sometimes I ‘m sad and I don’t know why. Its just a clous that comes along and covers me up.”
“Sad is a place / that is deep and dark / like the space / under the bed.”
WHERE ARE YOU EDDIE? illus. Gill Smith / 2026
Michael Rosen’s son, Eddie died many years ago (1999) but has he really gone? In this exquisite picture book, the author visits places and people that were once part of Eddie’s life and in this way, Eddie is still here, alive in memories. Cleverly, the story is told as an imagined conversation with Rosen’s cat, Meg. I don’t think I will read a picture book this year that is filled with as much heart, page by page. “Writing this book has helped me and my feelings. If you’re someone who is finding the loss of someone hard, I hope this book helps you.” (Author’s note). This is book is certain to ignite cherished memories and stories for any reader who has experienced loss – a book for everyone!
Excerpt
Eddies not coming back, is he Meg? Eddies not here. Here’s not there. He’s not anywhere. Is that the end?”
Meg looked up, “No, it’s the beginning,’ she said. “The beginning of what?” I asked
Meg replied, “Just wait and see. saying it’s the end will stop you seeing what’s there.”
… Meg went on. If you look for him, you’ll find him. Not the way he was, but he’ll be there.”
>>> POETRY
Michael Rosen has written poems for young people, adolescents and grown-ups. His poetry soul is also evident in several picture books whether with a rhyme pattern or not. He is also a notable anthologist whos name appears on a number of poetry collections. The following is a sampling of some of Michael Rosen’s perfectly leasing poem publications:
THE ADVANTAGES OF NEARLY DYING by Michael Rosen / 2023
At the beginning of 2020, Michael Rosen was hospitalized for 3 months in hospital whcih nearly seven weeks were in an induced coma. Rosen has writen about this ordeal and rehabilitation in two books, Many Different Kinds of Love: a story of life, death and the NHS and Getting Better: lifew lessons on going under, getting over it and getting through it.. The Advantages of Nearly Dying is a collection where he reflects upon and records the trauma of his illness as well as the politics of he pandemic. The poems are astonishing documents of time spent in the hospital, in waiting-rooms, being tested for blood, brain-scans and eye tests. Most poems are only one page in length, some even presented in three or four lines, Each piece offers a punch in the heart – often with wit – true to Michael Rosen’s extraordinary genius of writing poetry. Brilliant!
A Sampling
Today I forgot the word ‘antithesis’
I guess the antithesis of forgetting
Is remembering.
I had microbleeds in my brain
So now I can’t hear with my left eye
I can’t see with my left ear
And I get muddled.
The advantage of nearly dying
Is you get to see ahead of time
Which people will think kindly of you.
I dont’ think they’re too worried about by brain.
My appointment for my scan
Has been postponed from next Thursday to next year.
She asked me
What I had been doing
I said ’Trying not to die.’
I thought later
Actually I tried to die
But they wouldn’t let me.
(About the death of his son Eddie)
The silence after lasts forever
Quieter than a painting
There is nothing as quiet as this.
It is as quiet as nothing.
Two additionalpoetry anthologies for grown-ups
DON’T MENTION THE CHILDREN / 2015
PEBBLES: Poetry Tweets by Michael Rosen / 2024
OUT OF THIS WORLD: Poems to make you laugh, smile and think / 2024
This is a grand, brand new collection of poems by beloved British author and former Children’s Laureate, Michael Rosen. The twelve narrative free verse poems (with some splashes of rhyme) inspire thoughtful reflection, particularly when they are drawn from memories of our families. (e.g., The Schoch; Letters; Family Secret). Some poems display Rosen’s creative imagination (e.g. March 30, AD 3528; Time Travel; Red Blood Cell. The final poem, Riddles’, is a brilliant wrap-up of all the pieces we’ve encountered in the book. The black and white drawings by Ed Vere compliment the text. If I were to write a poetry book, I’d love to have Mr. Vere as my illustrator. This collection is subtitled: “Poems to make you laugh, smile and think”. Indeed they are! The title of this anthology is a perfect review of Michael Rosen’s talent. I look forward to reading Out of This World again.
MICHAEL ROSEN’S BOOK OF VERY SILLY POEMS (editor) /1994/ 2018
This book is a collection of fun, nonsensical, traditional poems and rhymes that are yes, quite silly. . Michael Rosen has gathered a few dozen poems under Such chapter headings as “Festering Food’, “Personal Pecularities’ and “Riotous Relatives’ provide a framework for some poems to make readers smile/ laugh as the following snippets reveal: “The king he baked a wedding cake with spiders and some honey.””I can’t do my bally bottom button up.” “Bugs go wild, simply wild, over me.” “The jelly wobbled, the turkey gobbled/ And after them the old cook hobbled.” “Tiffy taffy toffee/ On the flee flo floor.” “To Morrow, to Morrow, I hve to go to Morrow,/ The ticket collector told me that I have to go tomorrow.”
YOU WAIT TILL I’M OLDER THAN YOU/ 1996 / 2016
Michael Rosen is especially gifted writer of story poems where he looks into the rear-view mirror of incidents from his life, as a kid growing up or as a parent, recounting people, places, adventures that are part of the stories swimming in his head. Significance is brought to these events by in writing about them, which he does brilliantly in free verse style in such books as Mind Your Own Business, Wouldn’t You Like to Know, Qucick, Let’s Get Out of Here. Often funny, often poignant these pieces invite readers to join Rosen in his memory journey. Readers may personally connect to these narratives and moreover, may choose to write their own story poems. Some samples from You Wait Till I’m Older Than You include two friends playing with a ‘nicked’ toy car (‘Stealing’); grocery shopping with a toddler who wants ‘bince bince bince’ (beans) (‘Eddie and the Supermarket’); a train ride adventure to a beach (without telling his parents) (‘Robin Hoods’ Bay’); and walking into England with trousers down (‘Trousers Down’). and finding spiders in the toilet (“Australia).
>>> GUIDES
MICHAEL ROSEN’S BOOK OF PLAY: Why PLay Really Matters and 101 Ways To Get More Out of It in Your Life / 2019
I teach a university course entitled ‘Play Language and Literacy’ and can’t think of a better resource to offer educators insight into the importance of play in their teaching and in their lives. Not only does Rosen provide reasons for the importance of play but offers 101 – count em 101 ideas – to bring playfulness into the cognitive, social and emotional development of young people but as a significant realm for bringing joy into our own lives. Play, it can be argued, can make us into more rounded humans and societies and Michael Rosen is a worthy ambassador for the theories, practices and enriching power and fun of play beyond the early years.
The table of Contents includes teh following headings:
Hello
The Art of Play
Wordplay
Making it up as we go along
The puddle is the ocean
Toys
Playful learning
Making space for play
WHAT IS POETRY? The Essential Guide to Reading and Writing Poems / 2016/2019
“Poetry belongs to all of us; everyone can read poems, make up poems, or share poems with othes. Though we often talk about poetry being dense or difficult, poems are able to present complicated or challening ideas in ways that we can carrry around in our heads. They help us ask questions about the world, how we use words and who we are.’ (Introduction
If anyone can provide an appealing book that talks about how to read, write, and listen to poetry, who but the talented poet, Michael Rosen would be the one to give advice to young writers and to teachers who are keen to teach poetry in meaningful ways. Content includes chapters such as ‘What is Poetry?”What can you do with a poem?’ ‘The writing process from Rosen’s personal experiences’. ‘Ways to start a poem (tips)’ ‘Technical pointers’. Noteworthy is the inclusion of some renowned poems (as well as some of his own poems). Rosen’s analysis of these works help to provide meaningful, show don’t tell, demonstrations points presented in each chapter about experiencing poetry. (e.g.. ‘A Word is Dead’ by Emily Dickinson; ‘Who Has Seen the Wind’ by Christina Rossetti; ‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley; ‘The Jumblies’ by Edward Lear and ‘Waltzing Matilda’ by Banjo Peterson.
Summary: What can Poetry DO?
Poetry can give an impression
Poetry can play with words
Poetry can be symbolic
Poetry can be personal
Poetry can borrow voices
Poetry can capture a moment
Poetry can make new sense
Poetry can make familiar things feel unfamiliar & unfamiliar things feel familliar
>>>NONFICTION
GOOD DAYS: An ABC of Hope and Happiness (26 essays) / 2026
From the introduction (p. 3)
“I’m going to make a big claim: we can’t do anything about the things that brign us don., if we are oppressed and depressed by hem. We have to have hope. We need to be hopeful creatures in order o live…
“I can’t make you feel hopeful. I can’t guarantee that you’ll be happy. What I can do (and it’s what ive tried to do is tell some stories and give some thoughts, which i hope, in themselves will give you a moment of cheer… I think having moments of cheer is one of the ways we can have hope. Happiness and hope are linked.”
This is a book filled with wisdom, inspiration and biography. Through 26 essays, Michael Rosen helps readers to consider how there is joy in living each day of our lives. Rosen’s musings are drawn from his experiences as a writer, teacher, father, brother, son, husband, academic and as a regular guy living from day to day. , The book is arranged alphabetically and to say the least the topics for each piece are unexpected. . (e.g. ‘A is for Arouet’ , apparently Voltaire’s real name ‘H is for Hummus’, ‘K is fof Kvell and Kvetch’, ‘V is for Van Morrison’.). Each essay stimulates reflection (Would that work for me?). I chose to read the book in chronological order but such titles as ‘ I is for If’; ‘G is for Grounded’, ‘L is for LIttle by Little’,. ‘M is for Memory’, ‘N is for Nights’ may seduce readers into dipping into a single essay. On a practical level, Rosen offers suggestions a the end of each essay for readers to consider: (e.g., “As an experiment, you can try writing a line hat begins ‘Every day is…” (p. 19) “Find time to play -trial and error withoug fear of failure. Something joyful, or silly or purposeless in any medium you like.” (p. 159); “The basic one is in his section – make your own lists. Then there’s the motehr of all lists, the list of lists: explore the possibility that life is a list.” (p. 169). Whether we (I) take action to implement each of Rosen’s treasures, the book does help us (me) consider that each day is filled with treasure (s) that can make lift the spirits and make us believe in hope – and happiness. Rosen claims that his book is not a guide but is designed to spark inspiration and help us consider, “I cold give that a go’ or ‘I could do something like that.’ Good Days is a wise and entertaining and funny book to make us appreciate what we have and do and to prod us into being optimistic and more fulfilled by small things. Shout out goes to Andrzej Krauze’s brilliant illustration that introduced each easy.
Excerpt
“…To experiment, is to do something new, its to discover someEvents themselves dont’ have feelings attached to them. What makes us human is that we have those feelings. When we something in the world around us, it’s to discover something about A yourself.”And a big discovery (or it may be a reminder) is that we don’t have to be passive receivers of what the world thross at us. We can take any part of the world and experiment with it, see what happens if…” (p. 48)
GETTING BETTER: Life lessons on going under, getting over itl and getting through it / 2023
Michael Rosen was appointed Children’s Laureate (2007-2009) in the UK and is a renowned poet, performer, and broadcaster. Loss has been a part of Michael Rosen’s life. He has lived with a chronic hypothyroid illness grieved over the loss of his mother and over the sudden death of his son due to meningitis (meningococcal septicaemia). During the Pandemic, Rosen was in a coma for 40 days and 40 nights, facing death in intensive care for 48 days in a London hospital and then recovering in rehab for three weeks. Getting Better provides essays of how Michael Rosen, struggled to recover from trauma and grief and helps readers understand how we can find it within ourselves to live well again, during and after dark times. The subtitle of this book is Life Lessons on Going Under, Getting Over it and Getting Through It. What a brilliant writer, Michael Rosen is!. What a courageous soul. Michael Rosen is so grateful for his writing, so grateful for getting through life’s shit that came his way. so grateful for the loving care of family and friends. He may consider himself to be lucky. We are lucky to have him and his writing, especially for helping us take a journey on the path to being better, getting better.
MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF LOVE: A story of Life, Death and the NHS / 2021
Shout out to Chris Ridell’s illustrations that introduce each of the 8 sections.
Stricken by coronavirus, British writer Michael Rosen hospitalized with an induced coma for six weeks and weeks then spent weeks of rehab and recovery. This is the story of that time period. How does he get to tell remember his experiences, when in a coma? The first part of the book presents transcripts of emails that his devoted wife Emma had written to friends and family reporting her husband’s progress. Also, a notebook was kept by his bedside where the nurses who provided him with care wrote letters of hope, support and love. h of the book is presented as remarkable prose poems, where Rosen writes about his near-death experience and he many different kinds of love that spurred him on to survival. This is a beautiful beautiful book about the that life might send our way, the trauma of death hanging over our heads and the indomitable spirit and care of the National Health Service and especially the important people in our lives that carry us through dark times. This is a book of Health, Hope and Heart. each with a capital ‘H’. It is a sobering read that should be put in time capsule paying tribute to the resilience of those who suffered through Covid-19. This poetry memoir (published in 2021) is absolutely at the top of the list favourite reads this year. You are a hero, Michael Rosen. From the back cover:
A doctor is standing by my bed
asking me if I would sign a piece of paper
which would allow them to put me to sleep pump air into my lungs.
‘Will I wake up?’
“There’s a 50:50 chance.’
‘If I say no?’: I say.
‘Zero.’
And I sign.
CARRYING THE ELEPHANT: A Memoir of Love and Loss / 2002
In this slim volume of anecdotes, Michael Rosen ponders and preservers episodes from his past in 72 prose-poems. Each piece is a snapshot of remembrances from childhood, travels, relationships, and grief, Together, these short pieces add up to tell a story of the author’s life up until the year 2002. Recording these memories with honesty provided Rosen the opportunity to observe, to remember, to reflect on moments of significance as well as offer readers insights into a very special author’s biography.
Sample
My dead boy once made a clock. Instead of numbers, he put 12 letters tath spelled: How Time Flies. It fell off the wall and broke into pieces
– Hey, how time flies, he said.
Here are he pieces. I’ll stick them back together sometime.