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Michael RosenMichael Rosen
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Prizes and awards |
Critical perspective
BiographyProlific children's writer, Michael Rosen, was born in Middlesex in 1946 and studied English Language and Literature at Oxford University. His first work was a play, Backbone (1968), performed at the Royal Court Theatre while he was still a student. He also wrote poetry and journalism for the student newspaper and magazine during his time at Oxford.
From 1969-1972, he was a trainee at the BBC, working in radio drama, and on Play School and Schools Television. He then spent three years at the National Film School, publishing his first book of poetry, Mind Your Own Business, in 1974. This book was not originally written for children, but appeared on Deutsch's children's list, and from that point on, his career was set. Since 1976, he has been writing, performing, teaching, and appearing on radio and television. He also writes regularly for The Guardian.
His books include fiction and picture books for children, including the recent Michael Rosen's Sad Book (2004); Totally Wonderful Miss Plumberry (2006); and Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy (2006). His picture book, We're Going On a Bear Hunt (1989), won multiple awards. His poetry books include Quick Let's Get Out of Here (1983); You Wait Till I'm Older Than You (1996); Lunch Boxes Don't Fly (1999); Uncle Billy Being Silly (2001); and No Breathing in Class (2003) - all of which are based on his own childhood.
He has also edited many anthologies for children, including The Kingfisher Book of Children's Poetry (1985); Poems for the Very Young (1993); and Classic Poetry, an illustrated collection (1998), and has written two non-fiction books for children about Shakespeare and Dickens.
His non-fiction for adults includes books for teachers, such as Did I Hear You Write? (1989) and A Year with Poetry (1997). He has also recently written three books of autobiography entitled, Carrying the Elephant (2002); This Is Not My Nose (2004) and In the Colonie (2005), and he edited these and added new poems, for a Selected Poems (2007).
Michael Rosen's work for radio and television includes writing and presenting for BBC Radio 3 and 4 and for the BBC World Service, including the Treasure Islands, Best Words, Meridian Books and Word of Mouth programmes. He won a Sony Radio Gold Award for his series On Saying Goodbye. He has written and presented many single radio documentaries including profiles of the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Joan Littlewood, Bertolt Brecht, Maurice Sendak, Le Corbusier and 'Dr. Seuss' (Theodore Geisel) along with documentaries on the Second World War German youth movement, the Edelweisspiraten, the fantasy writers of Oxford University, Robert Browning's 'Pied Piper', the unpublished poetry of Ogden Nash, and series on innovative children's books and sculptors' materials. He created the children's television series, Black and White and Read all Over and Everybody Here for Channel 4, and the Channel 5 documentary on the Seven Stories Museum of Children's Literature in Newcastle, and has presented several series for educational television, such as Rosen's Poetry Attic and Reading Aloud.
Michael Rosen was one of the first poets to visit schools and is committed to the teaching of writing and the reading of literature in schools. He won the 1997 Eleanor Farjeon Award for distinguished services to children's literature, and received an honorary doctorate in 2005 from the Open University and another from Exeter University in 2007. He has a BA, MA and a Ph.D. for a doctorate completed in 1997 and is a visiting professor at London Metropolitan University and Middlesex University. He teaches at Birkbeck, University of London. He is a fellow of the English Assoiation and the Royal Society of Literature. He was appointed the Children's Laureate for 2007-2009.
Genres (in alphabetical order)Children, Poetry
BibliographyBackbone (play) Faber and Faber, 1968 Sam on Boff's Island (contributor; from TV series written by author) BBC, 1973 Mind Your Own Business (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Deutsch, 1974 Once there was a king who promised he would never chop anyone's head off (ilustrated by Kathy Henderson) Deutsch, 1976 Wouldn't You Like to Know (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Deutsch, 1977 She Even Called Me Garibaldi: Listening and Reading 2 BBC, 1978 The Bakerloo Flea (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Longman, 1979 You Tell Me (with Roger McGough; illustrated by Sara Midda) Kestrel, 1979 I See A Voice Thames, 1981 You Can't Catch Me! (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Deutsch, 1981 A Cat and Mouse Story (illustrated by William Rushton) Deutsch, 1982 Everybody Here (compiler) Bodley Head, 1982 Inky Pinky Ponky (collected with Susanna Steele; illustrated by Dan Jones) Granada Publications Ltd., 1982 Nasty! (illustrated by Amanda Macphail) Longman, 1982 Quick Let's Get Out of Here (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Deutsch, 1983 Bloody L.I.A.R.S (illustrated by Alan Gilbey) LIARS, 1984 Nasty (revised and extended edition of 'Nasty' (1982)) Puffin, 1984 Speaking To You (editor with David Jackson) Macmillan Education, 1984 Don't Put Mustard in the Custard Deutsch, 1985 Hairy Tales and Nursery Crimes (illustrated by Alan Baker) Deutsch, 1985 That'd Be Telling! (compiler with Joan Griffiths) Oxford University Press, 1985 The Kingfisher Book of Children's Poetry (editor; illustrated by Alice Englander) Kingfisher, 1985 Smelly Jelly Smelly Fish (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Walker Books, 1986 Under the Bed (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Walker Books, 1986 When Did You Last Wash Your Feet? (illustrated by Tony Pinchuck) Deutsch, 1986 A Spider Bought a Bicycle (selector; illustrated by Inga Moore) Kingfisher, 1987 Hard-Boiled Legs (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Walker Books, 1987 Spollyollydiddlytiddlyitis (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Walker Books, 1987 You're Thinking about Doughnuts (illustrated by Tony Pinchuck) Deutsch, 1987 Beep beep! Here come the Horribles (Illustrated by John Watson) Walker Books, 1988 Jokes and Verses 1 and 2 BBC, 1988 Norma and the Washing Machine Deutsch, 1988 Silly Stories (illustrated by Mik Brown) Kingfisher, 1988 The Hypnotiser (illustrated by Andrew Tiffen) Deutsch, 1988 The Kingfisher Book of Funny Stories (editor; illustrated by Tony Blundell) Kingfisher, 1988 Aladdin Firefly, 1989 Alice in Wonderland Firefly, 1989 Cinderella Firefly, 1989 Did I Hear You Write? (cartoons by Tony Pinchuck) Deutsch, 1989 Goldilocks and the Three Bears Firefly, 1989 Isabel: Shyness Firefly, 1989 Peter Pan Firefly, 1989 Rude Rhymes (illustrated by Riana Duncan) Deutsch, 1989 The Attic: Fear Firefly, 1989 The Class Two Monster (illustrated by Maggie Ling) Superchamps, 1989 The Deadman Tapes Deutsch, 1989 The Formula: Intelligence Firefly, 1989 The Nose: Lying Firefly, 1989 The Oar: Friendship Firefly, 1989 The Three Little Pigs Firefly, 1989 The Tree: Imagination Firefly, 1989 The Wicked Tricks of Till Owlyglass (illustrated by Fritz Wegner) Walker Books, 1989 We're Going On a Bear Hunt (illustrated by Helen Oxenbury) Walker Books, 1989 Culture Shock (editor; illustrated by Andrzej Krauze) Viking, 1990 Freckly Feet and Itchy Knees (illustrated by Sumi Sweeten) Collins, 1990 Hansel and Gretel Firefly, 1990 Little Rabbit Foo Foo (illustrated by Arthur Robins) Walker Books, 1990 Little Red Riding Hood Firefly, 1990 Never Mind! (illustrated by Mark Vyvyan-Jones) BBC/Longman, 1990 Sinbad Firefly, 1990 Snow White Firefly, 1990 The Golem of Old Prague (illustrated by Val Biro) Deutsch, 1990 The Royal Huddle: The Royal Muddle (illustrated by Colin West) Macmillan Children's Books, 1990 A World of Poetry (editor) Kingfisher, 1991 Clever Cakes (illustrated by Caroline Holden) Walker Books, 1991 Funny Stories (compiler) Kingfisher, 1991 Give Me Shelter (compiler) Bodley Head, 1991 Goodies and Daddies; an A-Z Guide to Fatherhood (illustrated by Caroline Holden) John Murray, 1991 How the Animals Got Their Colours Studio Editions, 1991 Mini Beasties (selector; illustrated by Alan Baker) Firefly, 1991 The Chatto Book of Dissent (editor with David Widgery) Chatto & Windus, 1991 Vulgar Verses (illustrated by Riana Duncan) Deutsch, 1991 Who Drew on the Baby's Head? (illustrated by Riana Duncan) Deutsch, 1991 Dirty Ditties (illustrated by Rina Duncan) Deutsch, 1992 Mind the Gap (illustrated by Caroline Holden) Adlib, 1992 Round About Six (contributor; book reprinted 2007) Frances Lincoln, 1992 Rude Rhymes (re-edited version of 'Rude Rhymes'; 'Dirty Ditties'; 'Vulgar Verses') Penguin, 1992 Sonsense Nongs (editor: illustrated by Shoo Rayner) A & C Black, 1992 South and North, East and West Walker Books, 1992 Action Replay (editor; illustrated by Andrzej Krauze) Viking, 1993 Burping Bertha (illustrated by Tony Ross) Andersen Press, 1993 Moving (illustrated by Sophy Williams) Viking, 1993 Nuts about Nuts (illustrated by S. Sweeten) HarperCollins, 1993 Poems for the Very Young (editor; illustratd by Bob Graham) Kingfisher, 1993 Songbird Story (illustrated by J. Dow) Frances Lincoln, 1993 The First Giraffe (illustrated by John Clementson) Studio Editions, 1993 Treasure Islands 2 (with Jill Burridge) BBC Books, 1993 You Are, Aren't You? Mushroom Bookshop, 1993 A Different Story; Poems from the Past (editor) The English and Media Centre, 1994 Dad (illustrated by Tony Ross) Longman, 1994 Fantastically Funny Stories (illustrated by Mik Brown) Kingfisher, 1994 Figgy Roll (illustrated by Tony Ross) Longman, 1994 Lisa's Letter (illustrated by Tony Ross) Longman, 1994 Michael Rosen's Arabian Frights and other stories (illustrated by Chris Fisher) Deutsch, 1994 Michael Rosen's Horribly Silly Stories Kingfisher, 1994 Norma's Notebook Longman, 1994 Pilly Soems A & C Black, 1994 Rude Rhymes II (compiler) Signet, 1994 The Man with No Shadow (illustrated by Reg Cartwright) Longman, 1994 The Old Woman and the Pumpkin (illustrated by Bob Hewis) Learning by Design, 1994 The Penguin Book of Childhood Penguin, 1994 Crow and Hawk (illustrated by John Clementson) Harcourt Brace, 1995 Even Stevens F.C. (with John Rogan) Collins, 1995 Just Kids (illustrated by Caroline Holden) John Murray, 1995 Michael Rosen's ABC (illustrated by Bee Willey) Macdonald Young Books, 1995 Rap with Rosen Longman, 1995 Stories for Five Year Olds Walker Books, 1995 Walking the Bridge of Your Nose (editor; illustrated by Chloe Cheese) Kingfisher, 1995 The Skin of your Back Five Leaves, 1996 The Zoo at Night (illustrated by Bee Willey) Tradewind Books (Canada), 1996 This Is Our House (illustrated by Bob Graham) Walker Books, 1996 You Wait Till I'm Older Than You (illustrated by Shoo Rayner) Viking, 1996 A Year with Poetry - Teachers Write About Teaching Poetry (co-editor and author with Myra Barrs) CLPE, 1997 Tea in the Sugar Bowl, Potato in my Shoe (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Walker Books, 1997 The Michael Rosen Book of Nonsense (illustrated by Clare Mackie) Wayland Macdonald, 1997 The Secret Life of Schools (editor; illustrated by Sarah Dempsey) Channel 4 Learning, 1997 Classic Poetry, an illustrated collection (editor and compiler; illustrated by Paul Howard) Walker Books, 1998 Night-Night, Knight, and other poetry (editor and compiler; illustrated by Sue Heap) Walker Books, 1998 Snore! (illustrated by Jonathan Langley) HarperCollins, 1998 Lunch Boxes Don't Fly (illustrated by Korky Paul) Puffin, 1999 Mission Ziffoid (illustrated by Arthur Robins) Walker Books, 1999 Rover (illustrated by Arthur Robins) Walker Books, 1999 Centrally Heated Knickers (illustrated by Harry Horse) Puffin, 2000 Even More Nonsense (illustrated by Clare Mackie) Hodder Wayland, 2000 A Jewish Tale (illustrated by Simon Jacob) Pearson Educational, 2001 Poems are ... crazy (compiler) Pearson Educational, 2001 Poems are ... noisy (compiler) Pearson Educational, 2001 Poems are ... pictures (compiler) Pearson Educational, 2001 Poems are ... private (compiler) Pearson Educational, 2001 Poems are ... public (compiler) Pearson Educational, 2001 Poems are ... quiet (compiler) Pearson Educational, 2001 Shakespeare, his life and his work (illustrated by Robert Ingpen) Walker Books, 2001 Two European Tales (illustrated by Barry Wilkinson and Gwen Touret) Pearson Educational, 2001 Uncle Billy Being Silly (illustrated by Korky Paul) Puffin, 2001 Zoomababy: and the great dog chase (illustrated by Caroline Holden) Pearson Educational, 2001 Zoomababy: and the locked cage (illustrated by Caroline Holden) Pearson Educational, 2001 Zoomababy: and the mission to Mars (illustrated by Caroline Holden) Pearson Educational, 2001 Zoomababy: and the search for the lost dummy (illustrated by Caroline Holden) Pearson Educational, 2001 Zoomababy: at the World Cup (illustrated by Caroline Holden) Pearson Educational, 2001 Carrying the Elephant Penguin, 2002 Lovely Old Roly (illustrated by Priscilla Lamont) Frances Lincoln, 2002 No Breathing in Class (illustrated by Korky Paul) Puffin, 2003 Oww! (illustrated by Jonathan Langley) HarperCollins, 2003 William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (illustrated by Jane Ray) Walker Books, 2003 Alphabet Poem (illustrated by Herve Tullet) Milet, 2004 Howler (illustrated by Neal Layton) Bloomsbury, 2004 Michael Rosen's Sad Book (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Walker Books, 2004 This Is Not My Nose Penguin, 2004 William Shakespeare in his times, for our times Redwords, 2004 Dickens, his work and his world (illustrated by Robert Ingpen) Walker Books, 2005 In the Colonie Penguin, 2005 You're Thinking about Doughnuts Barn Owl, 2005 You're Thinking About Tomatoes (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Barn Owl, 2005 Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy (illustrated by Quentin Blake) Bloomsbury, 2006 Totally Wonderful Miss Plumberry (illustrated by Chinlun Lee) Walker Books, 2006 Bear in the Cave (illustrated by Adrian Reynolds) Bloomsbury, 2007 Fighters for Life, Selected Political Poems Bookmarks, 2007 Michael Rosen's Scrapbook Oxford University Press, 2007 Selected Poems Penguin, 2007 Shoo! (illustrated by Jonathan Langley) HarperCollins, 2007 What's So Special About Dickens? (reformatted and adapted 'Dickens, his work and his world', 2005) Walker Books, 2007 What's So Special About Shakespeare? (reformatted and adapted 'Shakespeare, his life and work', 2001) Walker Books, 2007 Dear Mother Goose (illustrated by Nick Sharratt) Walker Books, 2008 Something's Drastic HarperCollins Education, 2008 All About Me Collins Big Cat, 2009 Bear Flies High (illustrated by Adrian Reynolds) Bloomsbury, 2009 I'm Number One (illustrated by Bob Graham) Walker Books, 2009 Michael Rosen's A-Z: The Best Children's Poetry from Agard to Zephaniah (editor) Puffin, 2009 Red Ted and the Lost Things (illustrated by Joel Stewart) Walker Books, 2009
Prizes and awards1968 Sunday Times/National Union of Students Drama Festival Award Backbone 1982 Signal Poetry Award You Can't Catch Me! 1983 Children's Rights Workshop 'Other Award' Everybody Here 1989 Smarties Book Prize Gold Award (0-5 years category and overall winner) We're Going On a Bear Hunt 1990 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (USA) We're Going on a Bear Hunt 1990 Horn Book Fanfare Title (USA) We're Going on a Bear Hunt 1990 Society of School Librarians International Honor Book Award (USA) We're Going on a Bear Hunt 1991 Japanese Picture Book Award (Japan) We're Going on a Bear Hunt 1992 Publishers Weekly Cuffies Award (USA) (best anthology or collection) Walking the Bridge of your Nose 1993 National Association of Parenting Publications Best Book Award (USA) Poetry for the Very Young 1996 Scotland on Sunday/Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award (best radio programme on the subject of food) Treasure Islands Special: Lashings of Ginger Beer 1997 Eleanor Farjeon Award 1998 Parent Magazine's Play and Learn Award Snore 1998 Talkies Award for Best Poetry Audio Tape of the Year You Wait Till I'm Older Than You 1999 International Reading Association Teachers' Choices Award (USA) Classic Poetry, an illustrated collection 2001 Sony Radio Silver Award for Best Radio Feature Dr Seuss: Who Put the Cat in the Hat? 2003 Sony Radio Gold Award for Radio short form On Saying Goodbye 2005 National Literacy WOW Award Alphabet Poem 2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (USA) Michael Rosen's Sad Book 2006 English Association 'Exceptional' Award Michael Rosen's Sad Book 2007 Children's Laureate
Critical PerspectiveIn June 2007, Michael Rosen became the fifth Children’s Laureate -- he is the first poet to step into this prestigious role. The idea for the Children’s Laureate came from a conversation between children’s author Michael Morpurgo and Ted Hughes, who was the Poet Laureate at the time. The two-year honour is bestowed upon outstanding writers who have made significant contributions to the field of children’s literature. After Quentin Blake, the second Children’s Laureate was Anne Fine (2001-03), followed by Michael Morpurgo (2003-05) and Jacqueline Wilson (2005-07).
Michael Rosen has written well over 100 books for children, mainly poetry but also novels, picture books and non-fiction books, including books about Shakespeare and Dickens, which provide children with wonderfully accessible introductions to these classic authors. Rosen is a charismatic, fun-loving character who was one of the first children’s writers to start doing school visits - something he still does regularly. He has always held strong views regarding the ways in which children learn, and he discusses this in Did I Hear You Write? (1989). In particular, he is critical of the ‘ “Jug-and-Mug” theory’ of education, in which the teacher pours knowledge into the ‘empty jug’ of the child’s mind.
Rosen’s role as Children’s Laureate thus gives him an ideal forum to voice his views. Nicholas Tucker’s 2007 interview with Rosen has been published in The Independent under the title ‘Why Michael Rosen will relish being the Children’s Laureate: With his delight in words, Michael Rosen can make politicians listen and children laugh’ (20 July, 2007). In this article, Rosen expresses his views about the way in which the National Curriculum favours ‘literacy as an end in itself, while pushing open-ended literary enjoyment into the sidelines’. He attacks the straight-jacket of the National Curriculum whenever he can: ‘And it may just be - fingers crossed - that we’re beginning to see something of a breakthrough here.’
Rosen, who also presents the BBC Radio 4 programme, ‘Word of Mouth’, which explores the English language, talks excitedly of his plans for his two years as Children’s Laureate:
'Well, I am going to do my best to release the reading of poetry from the vice-like grip of the literacy strategy by spreading the excitement of poetry through books, performances, festivals, internet, conferencing […] I would also like to help picture books find the larger audience they increasingly seem to be missing. And then I’ve got this idea for a series of literature trails […] showing young readers where their local writers and poets lived and worked.' (Nicholas Tucker, The Independent, 20 July, 2007)
The majority of Rosen’s writings, both poetry and prose, are delightfully humorous. His work embodies his intuitive understanding of children, for he is wholly in tune with his ‘inner child’. He frequently depicts the everyday world of children, validating their imaginative ways of thinking and being, and often lightly mocking adults who cannot empathise with the child’s point of view. His style of writing can, in some ways, be compared with that of Roald Dahl -- Rosen’s tone is more gentle, and his work does not contain the comic grotesque features that Dahl was so fond of, but both writers have a vivid, lively style which is bursting with energy and strongly conveys the author’s sheer delight in crafting words. They also share a tendency to ‘play’ with words, refusing to stick with sensible, conventional language.
In Did I Hear You Write? Rosen describes word-play as ‘the voice of the confused getting its own back, taking control of that seemingly powerful and dominating thing called adult language’. His poem, ‘What’s Your Name?’ from You Tell Me (1981), is an apt example of this:
'Rosen,
Rosen’s word-play is not limited to his poetry. In Arabian Frights and Other Gories (1994), he re-tells traditional fairytales in a nonsensical style, such as ‘Little Head Riding Pudd’: ‘One day, her mother said, “Little Head Riding Pudd, here is a jar of traffic jam to put on Fred Rolls. Take them to Bran. She’s ill and they will make her bitter”'
Rosen’s style is also very sensual, and a useful comparison can be made between Dahl’s description of the chocolate factory in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (1964) and Rosen’s poem ‘Chocolate Cake’ (from Quick Lets Get Out of Here, 1983). In both, the writing is intensely ‘alive’ and immediate, and the reader is invited to join in with the sensual experience:
'[Charlie] would hold his nose high in the air and take long deep sniffs of the gorgeous chocolatey smell all around him.
'Oh the icing on the top …. a lovely feeling in my belly
However, Rosen has also been criticised by traditionalists, as he comments in Did I Hear You Write?: ‘The “he-doesn’t-write-poetry” number’. His reaction to this displays a profound childlike wisdom: ‘Well, don’t call it poetry, then, call it “Bits” or “Stuff” ’. What is both delightful and important about Rosen’s style is that, like Dahl’s, it involves the reader in an active engagement with the text (as demonstrated in the two ‘chocolate’ quotations, above). This corresponds with Rosen’s criticism of the ‘Jug and Mug’ theory of learning - in his works, particularly his poems, children are encouraged to interact, to think and, most importantly, to feel in relation to the text, rather than simply being ‘told’ something.
Rosen’s poem ‘Mystery’ (Quick Lets Get Out of Here), embodies the lack of understanding between the child’s imaginative approach to life and the utilitarian adult’s emphasis on logic and factual learning. The child in the poem is enjoying himself, practising ‘pretending a bowl is a hat’. His father asks him a long series of questions, determined to discover what his son is doing and why. The response is a dramatic ‘NO ANSWER’ - for in this father’s logical mode of thinking, there is no explanation for the child’s behaviour. The father’s slightly cruel tone (‘The boy’s mad’) and his determination to find logical reasons (‘Why did you break it? Why do you need to practise?’) leave his son in silent humiliation. Yet the poem’s tone is clearly suggesting that it is the adult whose mind is limited and who has something to learn from his child, rather than vice versa.
Many of Rosen’s poems have a child persona as the narrative voice, but sometimes the narrator is an adult. In these poems, Rosen not only depicts imperfect adults, but encourages his child readers to develop understanding towards adult shortcomings. ‘Eddie in Bed’ (Quick Lets Get Out of Here) is one of various poems which depict loving but stressed-out parents struggling with conflicting emotions: ‘Sometimes I look really tired, because […] when most people are asleep […] I hear “waaaaaaaaaa.” ’ Rosen presents a humorous picture of Eddie’s temper tantrum, using the toddler’s repetitive refrains to create the rhythm of the poem:
'Wham
Wham
The poem’s narrator is undoubtedly a loving father, yet he is also one who has uncertainties and makes mistakes (‘I take him into our bed […] What a stupid thing to do’), and displays a mixture of love and irritation: ‘Those toes are going / wiggle wiggly wiggly […] So by the time I get up […] I’m very tired and very cross.’
‘Eddie in Bed’, like many of Rosen’s poems, is based on his real-life son Eddie (one of seven children, many of whom feature in their father’s poems). Tragically, Eddie died of meningitis at the age of 18, and Rosen channelled his grief into writing an award-winning book about bereavement, Michael Rosen's Sad Book (2004). The book is illustrated by Quentin Blake, who has illustrated many of Rosen’s books throughout the years. It is aimed at children - though it could equally be used by adults - and it presents a frank but heartfelt account of the emotions aroused by bereavement. He does not present any rose-tinted happy ending, but rather emphasises the importance of learning to live with the sadness, rather than expecting it to end. Eddie’s death also features strongly in Carrying the Elephant (2002), a collection of poems about Rosen’s life, from his own childhood memories to his terrible bereavement, through to his current life with his third wife and more young children.
Rosen’s work as a whole presents an enchanting child’s-eye-view of life. Though he lightly mocks adults, this is mostly done in a good-hearted way. He emphasises the importance of feelings and imagination and encourages children to explore their emotions and think for themselves, as he says in his poem ‘Chivvy’: ‘Grown-ups say […] Speak-up…Don’t stare…Don’t interrupt…Can’t you make your own mind up about anything?’ (You Tell Me).
Elizabeth O’Reilly 2007
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