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Children's reading lists

The best poetry books for children

A photo of Michael Rosen in profile, against a grey background

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Interviews

‘Stories are a way of laughing at death’: Michael Rosen on the human need for literature

A flatlay of must-read poetry collections set against a navy blue background.

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Reading lists

The best poetry collections of 2021 so far

Michael Rosen's top tips for performing poems and stories

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Crafts & activities

Michael Rosen’s top tips for performing poems and stories

Life lessons on going under, getting over it, and getting through it

Getting Better

In our lives, terrible things may happen. Michael Rosen has grieved the loss of a child, lived with debilitating chronic illness, and faced death itself when seriously unwell in hospital. In spite of this he has survived, and has even learned to find joy in life in the aftermath of tragedy. 
 
In Getting Better, he shares his story and the lessons he has learned along the way. Exploring the roles that trauma and grief have played in his own life, Michael investigates the road to recovery, asking how we can find it within ourselves to live well again after - or even during - the darkest times of our lives. Moving and insightful, Getting Better is an essential companion for anyone who has loved and lost, or struggled and survived.

Michael Rosen is one of the best-known figures in the children's book world. He is renowned for his work as a poet, performer, broadcaster and scriptwriter. He visits schools with his one-man show to enthuse children with his passion for books and poetry. In 2007 he was appointed Children's Laureate, a role which he held until 2009. While Laureate, he set up The Roald Dahl Funny Prize. He currently lives in London with his wife and children.

A story of life, death and the NHS

Many Different Kinds of Love

An astonishingly original and moving book

Harrowing, beautiful and sometimes very funny

Emotional...impossible to read without a lump in the throat

Intimate, desolate and sometimes very funny

Touching and, at times, surprisingly amusing

Michael Rosen is one of the best-known figures in the children's book  world.  He is renowned for his work as a poet, performer, broadcaster  and scriptwriter. He visits schools with his one-man show to enthuse  children with his passion for books and poetry. In 2007 he was appointed  Children's Laureate, a role which he held until 2009.  While Laureate,  he set up The Roald Dahl Funny Prize. He currently lives in London with his wife and children.

The instant Sunday Times top ten bestseller 
 
A Guardian Book of the Year 
An Evening Standard Book of the Year 
An Independent Book of the Year 
Netgalley's non-fiction Book of the Year 
 
A national treasure's journey to the brink and back. 
 
'Will I wake up?' 
'There's a 50:50 chance.' 
 
Michael Rosen wasn't feeling well. Soon he was struggling to breathe, and then he was admitted to hospital, suffering from coronavirus as the nation teetered on the edge of a global pandemic. 
 
What followed was months on the wards: six weeks in an induced coma, and many more weeks of rehab and recovery as the NHS saved Michael's life, and then got him back on his feet. Throughout Michael's stay in intensive care, a notebook lay at the end of his bed, where the nurses who cared for him wrote letters of hope and support. Embarking on the long road to recovery, Michael was soon ready to start writing about his near-death experience. 
 
Combining stunning new prose poems by one of Britain's best loved poets and the moving coronavirus diaries of his nurses, doctors and wife Emma-Louise Williams, this is a beautiful book about love, life and the NHS. Featuring original illustrations by Chris Riddell, each page celebrates the power of community, the importance of kind gestures in dark times, and the indomitable spirits of the people who keep us well.

Michael Rosen's Big Book of Bad Things

A series of poetry titles for children by many of Britain's greatest poets.

Discover funny, dark and thought-provoking poems on all things bad, from former Children’s Laureate 2007-2009, Michael Rosen. 
 
This poetry collection contains hilarious tales of friendship, family life and the horrors of being late for school, as well as poems to ponder - just think, how great would Satnav trousers be! 
 
This touching and funny poetry collection from one of Britain’s greatest children’s poets will delight readers young and old.

Michael Rosen is a poet with a superb ear for the rhythms of language

One of our most popular writers - the champion for every bored, overdrilled, tested-to-tears pupil in the land

I think poetry for children needs to be saved from the cold dissection of right and wrong answers and put back into rooms and halls full of wonder, compassion, haunting, laughter, music and rhythm. We need to hear its many cultures, many voices, many sounds. This is about wide and diverse participation. Diverse verse for all!

Michael Rosen, Children's Laureate 20072009

Nothing about this playful free verse is obscure or difficult, yet it revels in the sounds and meanings of words. It contains whimsy, flights of fancy and even satire.

Michael Rosen is one of the best known figures, not only in the children's book world but also the British arts scene. His first book of children's poems was published in 1974, and he has gone on to write numerous and award-winning children's books such as Quick, Let's get Out of Here, We're Going on a Bear Hunt and Chocolate Cake. Alongside this he performs, teaches, lectures, presents Word of Mouth on BBC Radio 4 and reviews books for the Guardian. He was Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009, and founded the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2008 as part of his laureateship to honour books that make children laugh!

A wonderfully exuberant yet poignant poetry collection from one of Britain's greatest children's poets Michael Rosen. Some poems are funny, some are sad, there are longer story poems and poems to ponder, such as how great would Satnav trousers be! Former Children's Laureate, Michael continuously promotes the need for children's poetry in our education system, and this collection, first published in 2010, continues to delight readers young and old.

Michael Rosen's Book of Very Silly Poems

Let your imagination run riot and laughter fill your belly as you explore this book of poems from former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen. 
 
Discover traditional poems, rhymes with a twist, and subversive playground favourites in this playful treasure chest of verse. 
 
 This is the perfect book for young readers to dive into the world of poetry and a great read-aloud with friends of family.

Michael Rosen, Children's Laureate 2007-2009

Michael Rosen (Author, External Editor) 
Michael Rosen is one of the best known figures, not only in the children's book world but also the British arts scene. His first book of children's poems was published in 1974, and he has gone on to write numerous and award-winning children's books such as Quick, Let's get Out of Here, We're Going on a Bear Hunt and Chocolate Cake. Alongside this he performs, teaches, lectures, presents Word of Mouth on BBC Radio 4 and reviews books for the Guardian. He was Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009, and founded the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2008 as part of his laureateship to honour books that make children laugh!

Let your imagination run riot and laughter fill your belly as you explore traditional poems, rhymes with a twist, and subversive playground favourites in this playful treasure chest of verse.

Centrally Heated Knickers

This irreverent and laugh-out-loud funny poetry book for children is written by beloved Children's Laureate 2007-2009 and illustrated by Harry Horse. 
 
Packed full of 100 poems about science and technology, in this collection they'll be introduced to the weird and wonderful world of martians, woolly saucepans and centrally heated knickers. 
 
Centrally Heated Knickers is perfect for introducing younger readers to poetry, with cross-curricular links and laughs.

One of our most popular writers &ndash; the champion for every bored, overdrilled, tested-to-tears pupil in the land

Hail! Hail! 
 
I come from another 
 
galaxy. 
 
Discover the weird and wonderful world of martians, woolly saucepans and centrally heated knickers in 100 poems about science and technology from the delightfully irreverent, Michael Rosen, Children's Laureate 2007 - 2009.

Chocolate Cake

When I was a boy, 
I had a favourite treat. 
It was when my mum made . . . 
 
CHOCOLATE CAKE! 
 
Ohhh! I LOVED chocolate cake. 
 
Fantastically funny and full of silly noises, this is Michael Rosen's love letter to every child's favourite treat, chocolate cake. Brought to life as a picture book for the first time with brilliant and characterful illustrations by Kevin Waldron.

Michael Rosen (Author) 
 Michael Rosen is one of the best known figures, not only in the children's book world but also the British arts scene. His first book of children's poems was published in 1974, and he has gone on to write numerous and award-winning children's books such as Quick, Let's get Out of Here, We're Going on a Bear Hunt and Chocolate Cake. Alongside this he performs, teaches, lectures, presents Word of Mouth on BBC Radio 4 and reviews books for the Guardian. He was Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009, and founded the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2008 as part of his laureateship to honour books that make children laugh! 
 
Kevin Waldron (Illustrator) 
 Kevin Waldron was born and raised in Dublin. 
 
After graduating with a degree in graphic design from D.I.T., he moved to London to study for an M.A in illustration at Kingston University. His first book, Mr. Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo (Templar Publishing) won the Bologna Ragazzi Opera Prima Award in 2009. He illustrated Tiny Little Fly (Walker Books), written by Michael Rosen which won the Bull-Bransom Award in 2011. The same year, he was also named one of the Booktrust best new illustrators. 
 
Kevin has now made New York his home. He makes picture books from his studio in Brooklyn. Sometimes his wife comes home &amp; is angry that all the leftover dessert is gone.

Michael Rosen

Weird and wonderful words for every day of the year

Discover the poetry of the people. 
 
What are words? They're the beginning of our stories: portals to treasured memories, to the strange sayings that seem to be unique to our own families and the beloved people that say them to us. So, what was your gran's favourite word for a time-waster? How did your dad answer the question 'What's the time?'? And just how many responses are there to the daily query 'What's for dinner?' Even better, how do these words change as they travel across our regions? 
 
In a joyful journey through a year of weird words and fantastic phrases, one of the nation's favourite wordsmiths takes a tour of the British Isles and all its vernacular idiosyncrasies, as well as reflecting on the joys of English, in a delightful book for anyone who loves language - whether following its rules or breaking them!

Michael Rosen

Books by Michael Rosen

Articles featuring Michael Rosen

The best poetry books for children

‘Stories are a way of laughing at death’: Michael Rosen on the human need for literature

The best poetry collections of 2021 so far

Michael Rosen’s top tips for performing poems and stories

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