Michael Rosen and his son Joe look back: ‘I am gooning about, but this photo is tinged with sadness’

Born in 1946 in Harrow, Middlesex, Michael Rosen is one of Britain’s most celebrated poets and the creator of classics such as We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Little Rabbit Foo Foo and Michael Rosen’s Sad Book. The children’s laureate from 2007 to 2009, he has continued his success in the digital era with his YouTube channel, Kids’ Poems and Stories With Michael Rosen, a collaboration with his son Joe, a film-maker. In March 2020, Rosen spent more than 40 days in intensive care with Covid, and later released Many Different Kinds of Love: A Story of Life, Death and the NHS, about dealing with the illness and his recovery. Rosen’s new book, Goldilocks and the Three Crocodiles, illustrated by David Melling, is published by HarperCollins.

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