After my father passed on, I felt really alone in my sense of grief and loss until I found Michael Rosen’s Sad Book (with illustrations by Quentin Blake). More recently, sharing A Great Big Cuddle (his poetry book for pre-schoolers, illustrated by Chris Riddell) with my two-year-old daughter has led not only to some lovely mother-daughter cuddles, but also to her developing a greater vocabulary and enjoying how funny and amazing the English language can be.

You have an incredibly popular YouTube channel you use to share your poetry with families and schools. How did this come about? Michael Rosen is a hugely bestselling author of picture books and poetry. Michael frequently appears on radio and gives talks and lectures on children’s literature. Michael was the Children’s Laureate for 2007–2009 and the winner of the Eleanor Farjeon Award. He lives in London. Elvira desidera tantissimo un cucciolo e lancia continuamente messaggi alla mamma che alla fine decide di prenderglielo. Torna dal negozio di animali ma… ha un pesce! Elvira non si perde d’animo e decide di addestrarlo come un cagnolino, ma visto che tutti i tentativi vanno a vuoto, decide di tentare con altro e alla fine Pesce Batuffolo le fa avere un “cenno” che qualcosa l’ha imparata. No, nowhere near. I love serious books, books that deal with the serious issues of our day, whether it’s climate change or race or generational/intergenerational stuff. However, it’s not that humour and humorous books don’t deal with these issues.

LoveReading4Kids Says

Goods that by reason of their nature, cannot be returned - (Items such as underwear, where the 'hygiene patch' has been removed, or cosmetics where the seal has been broken). Templeton is a grumpy rat and he is most definitely not a likeable character. He’s bad-tempered and selfish and even EB White describes him as having “no morals”. He needs so much coaxing to get on board to help save Wilbur’s life but despite that Templeton eventually proves himself a true hero when he abandons his ratty ways and helps save Charlotte’s babies. The easiest and best way is for two or three teachers to get together and have a little mini-reading group, just chatting about books. They can talk about it from their own point of view or possibly talk about what their own child or class thought of it. Start small, try to make it regular and more often than not it will take hold. Most of my adult life, I've been a freelance writer, teacher (of sorts), journalist, performer and broadcaster. I visit schools doing my one-man show, and support Arsenal Football Club. They’re important because the foundations of everything that we see on TV, on films and that we read are laid down when we read as a child. For example; Enid Blyton’s books are, to an extent, manuals which teach us how to read whodunnits, detective books, adventures and thrillers. They’re full of the same principles of writing; there’s mysteries you have to unfold, red herrings that send you the wrong way.

So, when HWRK offered me the opportunity to talk with Michael about his writing, the importance of books that make you laugh and the ways that teachers can encourage children to read for pleasure, I was naturally all in. I hope you enjoy this half as much as I did. Pig’s hilarious diary documents his time in the yard as he comes to the realisation that he’s being fattened up by the hungry farmer he adores. See? What did I tell you? It’s all about Templeton’s journey. 3. Fly Guy from Hi, Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold You’ve done a lot of work into funny writing. Do funny books get the same attention in mainstream media as more serious works?

This book works from nursery into LKS2. My three year old managed to make a connection from a Viking helmeted Fluff to Cressida Cowell and her How to Train Your Dragon characters, showing some visual literacy from Ross' illustrations. She was keen to remove her eyeball too, copying Jeff the Juggler, enjoying reading for pleasure, and came up with a response of "I wish we had a fish", deriving even more joy from an accidental rhyme. The nature of your work is so diverse; writing for and performing for children, radio shows on language, teaching at university. Do you see these as separate jobs or different sides of the same coin? This is not intended to be a full statement of all your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations. Full details of your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations are available in the UK from your local Citizens' Advice Bureau or your Local Authority's Trading Standards Office.

Many people (and mainstream media) depict digital media as detrimental to children’s literacy. Do you agree with this or is there a role mobile phones and new technology can play in encouraging young people to read/write? Christmas is coming, and what Leo wants more than anything in the world is a pet hamster. And guess what? He gets one on Christmas morning!

There just aren’t enough books out there that cast a fly as the hero. Well done Tedd Arnold, from me and all those of the Dipteran kingdom. Thanks to you my swatter is well and truly retired. Badger is a true champion of the five-second-rule. Well, more like the half an hour rule, because it took that long to get through this side-splittingly funny picture book, with my son rolling around on the floor in hysterics. OK. It was me. I was rolling around on the floor in hysterics. Hannah Shaw’s illustrations are beyond hilarious. Mr and Mrs Hurry are always rushing about. They never stop! But that means they forget some rather important things – like eating . . . and shopping . . . and taking their son Harry to school! I understand what you’re saying, and your comments are valuable, but I’m gonna ignore your advice.” 9. Badger from The Disgusting Sandwich by Gareth Edwards and Hannah Shaw Miss Trunchbull has to go down in history as one of the most evil fictional members of the children’s literature school staff. I have to remind myself she is fictional because this character gave me nightmares as a child. She’s feared by both the staff and pupils at Crunchem Hall (and me) so nothing gave me more joy than Lavender’s classroom prank with the newt.

Despereaux’s story is that of surviving against the odds. Despite being the runt of the mouse world this tiny mouse proves to be the bravest and most daring of rodents. He doesn’t fit in with the other castle mice to the point of which he is exiled to the dungeon to fend for himself against the unscrupulous rats. There’s a little sequence of stories I’ve written for Andersen Press such as Fluff the Farting Fish and Barking for Bagels that are all based around a child and an animal. They’re in that little bridge area, around the ages of seven to nine, when children are stopping being read to very much and are really taking pride in the fact that they can read by themselves. The sale of customised goods or perishable goods, sealed audio or video recordings, or software, which has been opened. I got interested in it around 15 or 16, when my dad suddenly decided to do a bit of home schooling and started teaching me English Literature at home. We had an anthology produced by some American critics and I suddenly thought, “blimey… this stuff’s good”. But the seeds must have been sown earlier even though I was ignoring it.Applicability of cancellation rights: Legal rights of cancellation under the Distance Selling Regulations available for UK or EU consumers do not apply to certain products and services. If you think about it this way, there’s not that much distance between Matilda and A Monster Calls. In A Monster Calls, the boy is trapped by this terrible thing of his mother dying. Similarly, Matilda is in a tragic situation; she’s totally trapped at home and in school and then she finds a way out of it. Babe couldn’t be further from the stereotype of pigs as the grotty, greedy, gruel-hogging farmyard bottom feeders. This orphaned piglet not only wins the hearts of Farmer Hogget and the animals on the farm and of course us, the readers, he perfects the art of shepherding proving that a pig can be so much more than just a swine. 2. Templeton from Charlotte’s Web by EB White and Garth Williams I love that Despereaux refuses to conform, proving to us all not to judge a hero by it’s miniature, nonconforming whiskers. 6. The newt from Matilda by Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake