New Releases by Michael Rosen

Michael Rosen’s hilarious viral video poem is brought to life in picture book form by award-winning illustrator Neal Layton. Young Michael thinks his dad knows everything. That is, until the fateful day when his family sits down to eat, and the potato is a bit hot. Michael knows to blow on the potato before eating, as does his brother and his mom. So why does his dad pop it straight into his mouth? Michael Rosen’s amusing retelling of the tale of his dad and the too-hot potato has become one of his most widely beloved poems, with his own performance of it inspiring a meme: “Nice!” A funny slice of family life, told in delightful repetitive text, Hot Food: Nice! is published for the first time as a picture book with bold, silly illustrations sure to charm readers of all ages.

A fabulously funny story, inspired by the much-loved classic character, from two giants of children’s books!

For bear lovers and brave hunters everywhere! The wildly popular chant-aloud is now an interactive board book with easy-to-use pull, slide, and play tabs on every page. We're going on a bear hunt. We're going to catch a big one. Join in the fun of the bear hunt with the help of super-sturdy tabs to pull, sliders to push, and wheels to turn. Little ones will love playing along with the classic story in a hands-on board book revealing surprises on every page. Just swishy swashy through the long wavy grass, squelch squerch through the oozy mud, stumble trip through the forest, and tiptoe through the gloomy cave--there's a bear waiting somewhere to be found!

From beloved British author and poet Michael Rosen and award-winning illustrator Daniel Egnéus comes a modern classic about love, hope and the dreams that sustain us. A heartwarming and timeless picture book, perfect for anyone who has ever loved a bear.

"How hungry is this squirrel? He could eat steaming rice, chocolate mice, a gingerbread man... or even a frying pan! What won't he eat?"--Page 4 of cover.

A collection of poems about the silly moments of every day life.

Michael Rosen shows how the redemptive hope of religion became the redemptive hope of historical progress. This was the heart of German Idealism: purpose lay not in God’s judgment but in worldly projects; freedom required not being subject to arbitrary authority, human or divine. Yet purpose and freedom never shed their theistic structure.

Rigatoni is a pasta cat. He loves pasta, any kind of pasta: spaghetti, penne, fusilli, with pesto, in soup, in lasagne, any whichever way his owners, Ruth and Tina, will serve it. Then one day Ruth and Tina go away and leave George in charge. And the pasta is replaced with yucky cat food. Can Rigatoni find someone who understands what he really wants to eat?

"Find and spot first words in this outdoor adventure based on the world of We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Grab your coat and wellies and get exploring in this tabbed board book filled with first outdoor words. Spot a worm in the garden, a tractor at the farm or even an owl in the wild wood. There's so much to find and learn when you step outside!"--Publisher.

An award-winning author and poet traces the history of his relatives lost in the Holocaust in a personal, powerful narrative with resonance for readers today. “They were there at the beginning of the war, but they were gone by the end. I suppose they died in the camps.” That’s all young Michael Rosen, born in England just after the end of the Second World War, was told about the six great-aunts and great-uncles who had been living in Poland or France at the beginning of that war. This wasn’t enough for him. So, as an adult, he started to search. He asked relatives for any papers they might have. He read book after book. He searched online, time and again, as more information was digitized and suddenly there to be found. In a unique mix of memoir, history, and poetry, scholar and children’s literature luminary Michael Rosen explores his family history, digging up more details than he ever thought he would and sharing them with readers so that now, a lifetime after the Nazis tried to make the world forget the Rosen family and the rest of Europe’s Jews, his readers can do something essential: remember. With an extensive list of titles for further reading, maps of France and Poland, a family tree, and an introduction by lauded author and anthologist Marc Aronson, this immensely readable narrative offers a vital tool for talking to children about the Holocaust against the background of the ongoing refugee crisis.

Standard print edition originally published 1989 by Walker Books Ltd.

A rousing biography from Michael J. Rosen and Matt Tavares reveals how Benjamin Franklin’s boyhood shaped his amazingly multifaceted life. Young Benjamin Franklin wants to be a sailor, but his father won’t hear of it. The other trades he tries — candle maker, joiner, boot closer, turner — bore him through and through. Curious and inventive, Ben prefers to read, swim, fly his kite, and fly his kite while swimming. But each time he fails to find a profession, he takes some important bit of knowledge with him. That tendency is exactly what leads him to become the astonishingly versatile genius we remember today. Inspired by The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Michael J. Rosen’s wry tale captures Ben’s spirit in evocative yet playful language, while illustrations by Matt Tavares follow Ben from the workbench to the water in vivid detail. A love story to the value of variety, A Ben of All Trades sheds light on an unconventional path to greatness and humanizes a towering figure in American history.

An inspiring and fun-filled guide to seasonal changes, featuring artwork from the animated special of We're Going on a Bear Hunt. In this interactive guide to the seasons, eager explorers will discover things look out for in each season, how the weather changes all year round and so much more! Packed with seasonal recipes, crafts and sticker activities galore, this beautifully illustrated sticker-activity book has plenty of ideas for outdoor adventures and wonderful weather facts for readers to discover along the way!

An inspiring and fun-filled guide to the seaside, featuring artwork from the animated special of We're Going on a Bear Hunt. In this interactive guide to the seaside, eager explorers will learn all about beach favourites including sand, crabs, birds, fish, rock pools and so much more! Packed with recipes, crafts and sticker activities galore, this beautifully illustrated sticker-activity book has plenty of ideas for seaside adventures and fun facts for readers come rain or shine!

Today, we don't get nearly enough play in our lives. At school, kids are drilled on exams, while at home we're all glued to our phones and screens. Former children's laureate and bestselling author, Michael Rosen, is here to show us how to put this right - and why it matters so much for creativity, resilience and much more. Packed with silliness, activities and prompts for creative indoor and outdoor play for all ages - with specially illustrated pages for everything from doodling to word play and after-dinner games.

Bear lovers rejoice! Pull the tabs and watch the pictures transform in an interactive edition of the award-winning classic. Follow and join in the family's excitement as they wade through the grass, splash through the river, and squelch through the mud in search of a bear. Pull the tabs to change the pictures along the way — we’re going to catch a big one!

The brilliant family memoir of the much-beloved poet and political campaigner In this hilarious, moving memoir, much-loved children’s poet and political campaigner Michael Rosen recalls the first twenty-three years of his life. He was born in the North London suburbs, and his parents, Harold and Connie, both teachers, first met as teenage Communists in the Jewish East End of the 1930s. The family home was filled with stories of relatives in London, the United States and France and of those who had disappeared in Europe. Different from other children, Rosen and his brother, Brian, grew up dreaming of a socialist revolution. Party meetings were held in the front room. Summers were for communist camping holidays. But it all changed after a trip to East Germany when, in 1957, his parents decided to leave ‘the Party’. From that point, Michael followed his own journey of radical self-discovery: running away to Aldermaston to march against the bomb; writing and performing in experimental political theatre at Oxford; getting arrested during the 1968 movements. The book ends with a letter to his father, and the revelation of a heartbreaking family secret.

The incredible story of Émile Zola's escape to London in the aftermath of the scandalous Dreyfus Affair. It is the evening of July 18, 1898 and the world-renowned novelist Émile Zola is on the run. His crime? Taking on the highest powers in the land with his open letter "J'accuse"—and losing. Forced to leave Paris with nothing but the clothes he is standing in and a nightshirt wrapped in newspaper, Zola flees to England with no idea when he will return. This is the little-known story of Zola's time in exile. Rosen has traced Zola's footsteps from the Gare du Nord to London, examining the significance of this year. The Disappearance of Émile Zola offers an intriguing insight into the mind, the loves, and the politics of the great writer during this tumultuous era in his life.

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.

How on Earth did we fix upon our twenty–six letters, what do they really mean, and how did we come to write them down in the first place? Michael Rosen takes you on an unforgettable adventure through the history of the alphabet in twenty–six vivid chapters, fizzing with personal anecdotes and fascinating facts. Starting with the mysterious Phoenicians and how sounds first came to be written down, he races on to show how nonsense poems work, pins down the strange story of OK, traces our five lost letters and tackles the tyranny of spelling, among many many other things. His heroes of the alphabet range from Edward Lear to Phyllis Pearsall (the inventor of the A–Z), and from the two scribes of Beowulf to rappers. Each chapter takes on a different subject – whether it's codes, umlauts or the writing of dictionaries. Rosen's enthusiasm for letters positively leaps off the page, whether it's the story of his life told through the typewriters he's owned or a chapter on jokes written in a string of gags and word games. This is the book for anyone who's ever wondered why Hawaiian only has a thirteen–letter alphabet or how exactly to write down the sound of a wild raspberry.

Synopsis coming soon.......

Synopsis coming soon.......

A completely topsy-turvey view of a world seen from a dog's eye point of view - a very funny story which turns to real drama when the little girl gets lost on the beach and the search is on to find her ... Layton's wildly exuberant illustrations provide the perfect accompaniment to the four legged narrator's refreshing brand of humour' The Guardian. Brilliantly read by Michael Rosen. Please note that audio is not supported by all devices, please consult your user manual for confirmation.

A classic tale of historical adventure to be enjoyed by children and adults alike, set against the turbulent background of the English Civil War, as well as a charming coming-of-age story It was in the month of November in this year that King Charles, accompanied by Sir John Berkely, Ashburnham, and Legg, made his escape from Hampton Court, and rode as fast as the horses could carry them toward that part of Hampshire which led to the New Forest . . . It is 1647. Charles I has been defeated in the civil war, but has escaped captivity and is making for France. Parliamentary soldiers searching the New Forest decide to burn the house of Colonel Beverly, a royalist officer killed at the Battle of Naseby. His four children are rescued by their father's gamekeeper, Jacob, who takes them in. The children gradually shed their aristocratic sensibilities and adapt to the simple ways of the forest, working Jacob's farmstead and befriending other inhabitants of the woodland. But when Charles II raises an army and the specter of war returns to haunt the Beverly children, they realize they cannot hide from their true identity.

We're going on a bear hunt. We're going to catch a big one. Will you come too? For more than twenty years, readers have been swishy swashing and splash sploshing through this award-winning favourite. Follow and join in the family's excitement as they wade through the grass, splash through the river and squelch through the mud in search of a bear. What a surprise awaits them in the cave on the other side of the dark forest Now you can join in the fun with this interactive jigsaw book.