Happy 70th birthday to poetry and prose pro Michael Rosen – here are some of our favourite quotes to celebrate the big day
Got a burning questions for the author of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt? You can ask on Twitter #KidsAskMichaelRosen or email kidsaskmichaelrosen@bloomsbury.com and Michael will answer his favourites
Writing can be a bit like unfolding something, like a game of pass-the-parcel. – Fantastic Mr Dahl
Sometimes sad is very big. It’s everywhere. All over me. Then I look like this. And there’s nothing I can do about it. – Sad Book
Related: Michael Rosen's Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake and Bad Things - in pictures
I mucked about with his hair. His shoes were where he left them. His shoes are where he left them.– Carrying the Elephant
Watching Shakespeare’s plays is like being invited into a house full of amazing rooms. Go through a door at the top of the house and you will meet a ghost walking the battlements of a castle at night– What’s So Special About Shakespeare?
People often do that. They look in the mirror and talk to themselves. They say things like, ‘Hiya, handsome, you’re looking good today.’ Or, ‘What’s cooking?’ Or, ‘I’ve got a little green bit on my chin … I wonder if I’m going mouldy…’ – Uncle Gobb and the Dread Shed
We’re going on a bear hunt: We’re going on a bear hunt. We’re going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day! We’re not scared. – We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Related: Wanted: books to help my children remember they love reading!
Wipe that face off your smile
Don’t eat with your mouthful
When you cough, put your ear over your mouth
Don’t bite your nose
Don’t talk while I’m interrupting
How many tunes do I have to tell you? – You Wait Till I’m Older Than You!
In the beginning was the word
and the word is ours:
the names of places,
the names of flowers,
the names of names. – Words Are Ours
Little Rabbit Foo Foo I don’t like your attitude, scooping up the field mice and bopping them on the head – Little Rabbit Foo Foo
You tell me a joke; I tell you what happened.
You catch on; I catch your cold.
You tell me a secret; I give you a headache. – Stories and Illnesses, Michael Rosen’s Big Book of Bad Things
