Michael Rosen is best known as a children’s author and poet.
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Facts About Michael Rosen
- Michael Rosen’s full name is Michael Wayne Rosen, and he was born in 1946 in Middlesex, England.
- After briefly working for the BBC, in 1972 he became a freelance writer and broadcaster.
- His first book of poetry for children Mind Your Business was published in 1974. He followed this up with other collections including Wouldn’t You Like to Know, You Tell Me, and Quick Let’s Get Out of Here.
- His most popular title is the children’s picture book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.
- Michael Rosen’s Sad Book (published in 2004 and illustrated by Quentin Blake) won the English Association Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year award. The book is partly about grief and bereavement and was prompted by the death of Micheal’s son, Eddie, from meningitis at the age of 18 in 1999.
- Michael Rosen appeared on the Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs in 2006.
- Michael Rosen nearly died of COVID-19, and he wrote a book Many Different Kinds of Love: A Story of Life, Death and the NHS, detailing his experiences while in hospital after spending morethan 40 days in a coma in the intensive care unit.
- He was a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn during his bid to become Prime Miniter in the 2019 UK General Election.
- In 2007, Michael Rosen became the sixth British Children’s Laureate, taking over the post from Jacqueline Wilson. He held the post for two years, before being succeeded by Anthony Browne.
- He has written more than 140 books.
- His favourite books include Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, The Wool Pack by Cynthia Harnett, and Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
- He supports Arsenal Football Club.
- In 2003, he named his Top 10 Books and included Zebby Gone with the Wind by Binette Schroeder, Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet & Allan Ahlberg, In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah, Gulf by Robert Westall, and The War Poems by Siegfried Sassoon.
- He is an admirer of the authors James Joyce, DH Lawrence, Carl Sandburg, Gerald Manley Hopkins, Rosemary Sutcliff, James Thurber, and Peter Ustinov.
- Michael Rosen’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt has sold more than 11 million copies, and it has been translated into 42 languages.
- His poetry performance videos on YouTube have been viewed more than 100 million times.