Author Information
Michael J. Rosen's Latest Book

Newest Release

  • Bibliography:
    128 Books
  • First Book:
    November 1986
  • Latest Book:
    September 2025
  • Author Rating:
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Book List in Order: 128 titles




  • James Thurber spent most of his career at the New Yorker magazine, drawing cartoons and writing essays and stories. Collecting Himself is a one-of-a-kind compilation of James Thurber's vintage writings, featuring previously unanthologized articles...

















  • A fiftieth anniversary anthology of twenty-five stories--representing the cultural traditions of nineteen different countries--is enhanced by artwork by Michael Foreman, Helen Oxenbury, Charlotte Voake, and other noted artists....



  • """Naughty Little Rabbit Foo Foo won't stop bopping the forest animals on the head. After three chances he gets what he deserves from the Good Fairy! All are invited to join in and sing along"".--IRA/CBC Children's Choices. Includes sheet music. Full...



  • Illustrated with bright, cut-paper collages, an East African folktale explains how Giraffe and Rhino lived happily on the grassy plains, until the grass dried up and Rhino came up with an idea that changed their lives....





  • Forty-three successful children's book illustrators, including Barry Moser, Alice Provensen, Alexandra Day, and Lane Smith, offer charming, illustrated anecdotes about their dogs, including show dogs, show-off dogs, a moon-crazed spaniel, and others....



  • Stories by such writers as Italo Calvino, Maxine Kumin, and Ethan Canin look at human interactions with wild animals, such as elephants and deer, and semi-domesticated creatures, including gerbils and cows...



  • In a world of bountiful food yet increasing food insecurity, we are called to remember that all creatures have a place—and may be fed sustainably—at the greatest, communal table offered by our planet....





  • In a tale from the Pueblo people, Hawk hatches Crow's eggs, raises the baby crows, and then turns to Eagle for a decision as to who should keep the babies. By the author and illustrator of How the Animals Got Their Colors. ...



  • Pompey Walker dreams of going to school, but as a slave in the 1830s, this is only a dream, until slavery-hating Jeremiah Walker, son-in-law of the plantation owner, buys Pompey’s freedom. Together, they devise and carry out a plan to get money to ...






  • In The Kingfisher Book of Children's Poetry, Michael Rosen encourages children to see poetry as lively and entertaining. To this end he has included ballads, limericks, riddles, and nonsense verse, as well as a wide variety of poetry old and new, ...



  • In Traveling in Notions Michael J. Rosen creates a novel in poems, a questing contemplation, an alter ego Gordon Penn who holds to hopefulness amid circumstances that will have none of it. Penn is a widower, a soon-to-retire notions salesman, a Midwe...



  • Collects the stories of five adolescents who overcome the challenges of prejudice, divorce, age, illness, and fear, from a disabled Matt, who discovers his talent for swimming, to Jonathan, who is sent away to boarding school....



  • Michael and Elijah are friends, but when Elijah gives Michael one of his special carved angels, Michael doesn’t know what to do. How can he possibly take home a Christmas angel, a forbidden graven image--especially on Chanukah? “A strikingly illu...







  • 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 prov...





  • Amanda is worried that Thanksgiving won't be the same without her beloved grandmother Bubbe, but when she remembers Bubbe's favorite custom--making wishes on the wishbones she saved throughout the year--Amanda and her family find comfort and solace i...








  • In Michael J. Rosen’s funny, provocative novel, a reluctant move to the heart of hunting country spurs a lonely teen’s obsession with e-mail and Top Ten lists -- and a passion for animals that takes on a life of its own.

    Fourteen-year-old ...



  • For brave hunters and bear lovers, the classic chant-aloud by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury is now available in a delightful puzzle book edition. Imagine the fun of going on a bear hunt -- through tall, wavy grass (swishy swishy swishy! ), sw...



  • A funny farmyard story from much-loved author, Michael Rosen. Perfect for bedtime, or any time!All is quiet on the farm â€" until Dog starts to SNORE!Cow and Cat and Sheep and Pig and Dog and all the little Piglets are woken by the noise. Will they e...




  • Old Roly the cat is tired - he sleeps all day. Mum and Dad and the kids all know he can't live much longer, but what will happen when he dies? The children grieve when Roly passes, but then a new cat appears and gradually finds her place in the ho...



  • Humans can be so confusing, especially when you're a dog. I live with a family of humans, you see. A big, man-human, a big lady-human and a little girl-human. Well, one day the lady-human's tummy started getting bigger and bigger. Then - and ...



  • A funny farmyard story from much-loved author, Michael Rosen. Perfect for bedtime, or any time!All is quiet on the farm â€" until OWW! One of the little Piglets wriggles and jiggles onto something very prickly. OWW! Will his friends be able to help g...








  • In a series of artful, deceptively simple poems Michael Rosen describes what it was like to grow up in a left-wing intellectural Jewish family - and always to feel an outsider among your friends and contemporaries....



  • A thoughtful, multigenerational tale of Sunday fishing trips with Dad, as seen through the eyes of the author as a young boy.

    This lyrical story recaptures all the Sundays Michael J. Rosen spent fishing with his father at their favorite hole...



  • It's hard to be little in the middle of everything big. This little bear has legs that dangle, arms that can't quite reach, and a sister who likes to remind him that she's bigger. He is sure that he will never, ever, ever grow. But just when he begin...



  • SideSplitters Fantastically Funny Stories by Michael Rosen

    Young readers will love this collection of rib-tickling tales with hilarious cartoon illustrations on every page. These very short stories feature crazy characters such as a rogue el...



  • "Playground dynamics become testy as a willful child attempts to exclude everyone else in this simple, humorous lesson in human relations. . . . Deft and funny." -- THE HORN BOOK

    George has a house made from a big cardboard box, and he says t...



  • The fan-favourite story from celebrated author and former British Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen – now in graphic novel form with full-colour illustrations by Cole Henley. Uh-oh… Frank isn’t doing well at school, and he has...



  • When Frank's mom has to work late one Friday cleaning the local museum, he finds himself spending a lonely night roaming the dark halls—until a chatty skeleton appears and takes him on an enchanting tour of the exhibits and their surprisingly a...



  • A small moment makes a big difference to a little girl -- thanks to a totally wonderful teacher who knows just what to do.

    Molly can't wait to share her grandma's crystal with all her classmates, the special crystal she looks at each night a...



  • One crescent moon glows in the sky. Two headlights shine through the window. . . . On each magical night of Chanukah, a young boy and his sister count more lights shining all around them! Join them as they discover what it means to celebrate Chanukah...



  • Climb in for the perfect road trip! Farm visits and foraging in the fields, car games and silly songs -- what better way for a family to spend the day?

    The car has been stocked with drinks and snacks, maps and joke books, treats for horses a...






  • Bear is content to spend his days singing to himself and wading playfully through the water in his cave by the sea. Then one day, he hears the noises of the city traveling on the wind, and his curiosity to experience big city life compels him to visi...



  • Fourteen-year-old Chase Riley has just moved with his parents from Columbus, Ohio, to a farmhouse in the country, but it may as well be on another planet. For starters, there's a plague of cicadas, but that's nothing compared to the awesome appearanc...



  • From a rajah with big ears to an orphan with enormous feet, all sorts of hilarious characters populate the pages of this humorous anthology. Michael Rosen has selected thirty-nine zany tales from around the
    world. With stories by a stellar ense...



  • "You Can't Catch Me" and "You Can't Put Mustard in the Custard" were first published twenty-five years ago and were groundbreaking in that they were full-colour illustrated new poems for children. "You Can't Catch Me" won the Signal Poetry Award in 1...



  • "Snore " begins as all is quiet on the farm and the animals are drifting off to sleep . . . until Dog starts to snore One by one, all the other animals try to stop him: Sheep says "Boo," the piglets giggle and Cat even tries to sing--will they final...



  • Hail! Hail!I come from anothergalaxy.Discover the wierd and wonderful world of martians, woolly saucepans and centrally heated knickers in 100 poems about science and technology from the delightfully irreverent, Michael Rosen, Children's Laureate 200...



  • YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGET OFF, GET OFF, GET OFF!Well what would you say if your brother kept whacking you with a spoon, or the spider made it all the way up the toilet bowl or your mum made you wear that horrible shirt?Find out in this fantastically funny...



  • With unmitigated honesty, a touch of humor, and sensitive illustrations by Quentin Blake, Michael Rosen explores the experience of sadness in a way that resonates with us all.

    Sometimes I'm sad and I don’t know why.
    It's just a cloud that...



  • When Bear spots some seagulls soaring high above him, he thinks about how much fun it must be to fly. There's just one problem -- bears don't have wings. Luckily, Bear has four young friends who know exactly what to do: Take a trip to an amusement...



  • With bravery, teamwork, and lots of common sense, a forgotten bear finds his way home in this warm, wise, and very funny graphic storybook.

    One day, a little bear named Red Ted is accidentally left on the seat of a train. When he winds up on a...



  • How do you deal with a bully? A stellar author-illustrator team shows that a touch of playfulness can go a long way. Little wind-up soldier A-One is in charge. At least that’s what he tells the other toys: Sally, Maddy, and Sid. When he tells th...





  • My, oh my! An elusive fly stirs up some mighty beasts in this witty tale for the very young, from a British Children’s Laureate and a talented Irish illustrator.

    When Tiny Little Fly sees great big toes (and lands on a great big nose), the p...



  • A group of restless pumpkinheads are tired of spending every Halloween sitting on the porch while all the kids get to dress up and go trick-or-treating. This year, the pumpkins magnificently transform into fearsome Frankenstein, the Loch Ness monster...



  • From a pop-up master and an acclaimed poet and author comes a glorious celebration of the true spirit of Chanukah. Open this beautiful gift book and follow the Festival of Lights through place and time -- from Herod's temple to a shtetl in Russia;...



  • Following the publication of bestselling Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy, Michael Rosen has followed up with a brilliant new book of poems that are funny, thought-provoking and always with Michael's immediately accessible and child-centred ...



  • Is the grass greener on the other side of the train window? Even a brief brush with a stranger can change our lives. It’s 1970, and Perry feels adrift in turbulent times: his father is missing in action in Vietnam, his mother is studying to become ...



  • Hilariously illustrated, a cautionary story about a girl with an amazing talent for burping

    On an ordinary morning, in an ordinary room, an up-till-now perfectly ordinary Bertha does an extremely extra-ordinary burp. A burp so extra...



  • A charming collection featuring free verse stories, rhymes, and poems from the renowned Michael Rosen and quirky artwork by Quentin Blake. From the chaos of breakfast to the calm of bedtime, this whimsical collection, pairing two former British La...



  • In 1768, an 11-year-old sailor named Nicholas took to the seas with British explorer James Cook on a 3-year expedition of discovery, venturing into an uncharted world filled with strange lands, mysterious peoples, and peculiar creatures. Sailing the ...



  • Life story of Roald Dahl, World's No.1 storyteller, creator of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach and many more, brought to life by Michael Rosen - author, poet and former Children's Laure...



  • What’s not to love? A classic tale told with sly humor, for little ones with an appetite for laughs. Harry makes great soup. So Harry’s friends are always running to his cafĂ© just for that famous soup. One day, Ryan the Lion, Jo the Crow, and...



  • A brand-new creation from this hilarious collaboration between the famous poet and the exceptional illustrator!
         Elvie is desperate for a puppy that she can train up to do amazing tricks.

         One day Mum went out to get the...



  • Michael Rosen and Talleen Hacikyan join forces to portray some of Aesop's most famous fables in this beautifully illustrated picture book. Loyal dogs, tricky foxes and powerful lions are only a part of the large cast of animals that helps teach child...



  • A quirky and hilarious tale written by the author of We're Going on a Bear Hunt

    Leaving Toy School for his new home, Bob the Bear thinks he knows all there is to being loved and cuddled. But in the end it is a surprising and unusual ...



  • Sniffing armpits. Scuba diving for golf balls. Building secret passageways. For some lucky people, these strange tasks are all in a day's work. Want to learn about the men and women who destroy old buildings or make movie sound effects? Discover a ra...



  • A very happy bear hears the sounds of the city from his quiet home by the sea and decides to find out what city life is like. Buying the ticket and travelling on the train is all very exciting. And so is the city! But after a while the bear finds the...





  • Tune in as a father reads his children a bedtime story about the exploits of two villains, Filth and Vacuum, and their wicked plan to suck all the money out of the banks and cover everything with muck and slime. Who is strong enough to save the world...



  • In this tender story about the virtues of finding, keeping, and letting go, a young grouse is waylaid on her seasonal migration and carries her precious cargo to a new land. As the bird's favorite Forever Flowers grow from planted seeds to blooming f...




  • Small children take great delight in rides -- whether by bicycle, car, boat, or plane. But best of all is taking the bus, because the bus is for everyone! Complemented by beautiful artwork from Gillian Tyler, this playful rhyming narrative by Michael...



  • A rib-tickling story about a family that spends too much time rushing to remember anything important

    Mr. and Mrs. Hurry are always rushing about. They never stop! But that means they forget some rather important things -- like eatin...



  • More mayhem from the four-legged narrator! When his pet human, Rover, goes to school, our canine hero thinks she is trapped against her will. He goes to the rescue, and when he sees her surrounded by monster masks, leaps to the wrong conclusion and t...



  • Malcolm is in all ways an ordinary ten-year-old. This is a perfectly ordinary story featuring one perfectly ordinary ten year old, his very bossy uncle, some baked beans, a school which tries to make interesting things BORING, the famed Italian city ...



  • Malcolm is in all ways an ordinary ten-year-old. This is a perfectly ordinary story featuring one perfectly ordinary ten year old, his very bossy uncle, some baked beans, a school which tries to make interesting things BORING, the famed Italian city ...





  • Curl up with a playful collection of poems from best-selling children’s author and poet Michael Rosen, perfect for sharing with young friends. In this exuberant compilation, Michael Rosen invites children to joyfully celebrate sounds and the inf...



  • When a blizzard traps a family outside in a whiteout, a cattle dog devises a stunning rescue in a moving, suspenseful, and gorgeously illustrated story. A family -- a mother, a father, and their ten-year-old son -- have come all the way from Flori...





  • Bilal is terrified of The Test. He can't answer any of the questions! But then Bumble the bee comes along, and he can answer any question you ask, even the really tricky ones. Then Bilal's granny suggests they go on the wildly popular TV quiz show...




  • Shnipp the dog loves to play fetch with Julie and Lara in the park, but she doesn't love their annoying laughs. So one day she decides to run off. It's not long before Shnipp finds a new life with Bessie the Bagel Lady, eating delicious bagels every ...



  • The second uproarious adventure from the comic pairing of Michael Rosen and Neal Layton sees Malcolm and the peculiar Uncle Gobb go to America, each with a cunning plan... Even though Malcolm managed to bamboozle and confuzle Uncle Gobb in the las...



  • Once there was a very fierce cat. Not just fierce: well fierce, totally, terrifyingly, stupendously fierce. Everyone was afraid of this cat. Her name was Dread and everyone dreaded Dread Cat. But then Dread Cat started to run out of luck catching mic...



  • 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. Brou...



  • A timely retelling of A Christmas Carol for the whole family about a smartphone-obsessed dad. This Christmas, join Michael Rosen and Tony Ross with their unforgettable retelling of Charles Dickens's beloved holiday classic. Harry Gruber plays the rol...



  • The third uproarious adventure from the comic pairing of Michael Rosen and Neal Layton sees Malcolm and his awful Uncle Gobb return, each with a cunning plot ...

    This time, there is a plot. That's the plot of the story. Or is it? The p...





  • Double the trouble! An original novel by Michael Rosen, told alongside the Dickens classic that inspired it: Oliver Twist. Shona and her dad are moving house, and at Shona's new school, the rules are pretty confusing; she keep...



  • 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! Leo names his new pet Hampstead, after an autocorrect mistake on his wishlist. Everything is great, that is un...



  • The story Ecology and Psychology in Israel it is the reality episodes of the real fate of the author of these lines, who immigrated to Israel from the former USSR for almost 30 years ago. He to live in this country up to the present. During this huge...



  • A collection of political tales -- first published in British workers’ magazines -- selected and introduced by acclaimed critic and author Michael RosenIn the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, unique tales inspired by traditional liter...



  • The digest Jewish happiness in Israel consists of three short stories: Jewish happiness, “Terrorist’s Lover», “Life and death beyond the green line. All these stories are based on real facts of modern Israeli reality. The purpo...



  • Come and explore the quiet, NOISY woods, and follow two wolf pups finding their way back to their pack in this adorable read-aloud picture book -- full of boisterous animal noises and inspiring artwork. Squirrels chit-chitter-chatter, foxes swoosh...



  • “This collection of silly rhymes and poems is sure to please. . . . An excellent choice for pre-readers and very young children, as well as anyone with a love for nursery rhymes.” -- School Library Journal (starred review)

    Michael Rosen ...



  • A touching, heartfelt picture book, this is the perfect gift for celebrating any of life's big moments. To fetch! To play! To wag tails all day! When a young puppy needs reassurance, a wise dog is there to offer canine tips ...



  • Wolfman is on the loose in this rollicking low reading age book from renowned and bestselling author Michael Rosen.Wolfman is on the loose and he is raging and rampaging through town like a terror! Lamp-posts have been ripped up, paving slabs chewed ...





  • Two super-smart kids triumph in these perfectly packaged tales with a twist from multi-award-winning and bestselling author Michael RosenIt pays to be able to think on your feet, especially if youre about to be eaten alive or cheated out of a valuabl...









  • When you’re hungry—really hungry—what exactly could you eat? From the delicious to the daffy, Michael Rosen’s rhyming read-aloud offers a tasting menu for the silliest toddler connoisseurs among us. Look out! This squirrel is ...



  • Michael Rosen has reimagined this classic play by William Shakespeare as the story of Macbeth, a promising 12-year-old striker on the Shotfield football team, and his burning desire to become team captain. His hard-hearted mother pushes him to do wha...




  • 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 ...



  • A fabulously funny take on a classic story from two giants of children’s books!Goldilocks and her little dog are off on an adventure, looking for that house again â€" the one with the chairs, the porridge and beds. The sound of the sea calls to the...



  • Former British Children's Laureate Michael Rosen and award-winning artist Polly Dunbar join forces for thirty-two irresistible rhymes that revel in toddlers’ everyday lives. Will you getti the spaghetti?Don’t say, “Not yetti spaghet...





  • Playful and jubilant, Michael Rosen’s read-aloud delight captures the can’t-sit-still spirit of children with energy to burn. This bunny is so wriggly! Around and around, on the ground, it waves its feet and drums out a beat. It just can&...



  • A fabulously funny take on a classic story from two giants of children’s books!Little Red Riding Hood â€" who is not-so-little anymore! â€" is riding her pony through the woods to visit Granny for a picnic and a surprise. Now that she is bigger, sh...




  • From beloved author Michael Rosen (We're Going on a Bear Hunt) and award-winning illustrator Daniel EgnĂ©us comes a modern classic picture book about love, hope and the dreams that sustain us.

    * "A soothing tale that will be welcom...



  • Just how happy is this puppy? Michael Rosen’s gleeful picture-book gambol follows a jubilant pooch from here to the stars and back.This puppy is HAPPY! So happy it wants to shout about it! Riding high on a cloud of joy, it wants to sing on a sw...



  • A brand new collection of poetry by former Children's Laureate Michael Rosen, author of We're Going on a Bear Hunt, with illustrations by acclaimed artist Ed Vere.What would it be like to live in the future? Or underwater? What would you do if you co...



  • A funny farmyard story from much-loved author, Michael Rosen. Perfect for bedtime, or any time!All is quiet on the farm – until SHOO! Cat makes a lot of noise to chase all the other animals out of the barn.At last, he is alone! But how will Cat...



  • The incomparable creative team behind We’re Going on a Bear Hunt reunite for a read-aloud comedy of misunderstandings that has all the hallmarks of a classic. I went to the shop to get me a carrot. Oh dear! They gave me . . . . . . a parrot. Oh dea...


Award-Winning Books by Michael J. Rosen

Chanukah Lights
2012 Sydney Taylor Book Award -- Younger Readers


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Michael J. Rosen has published 128 books.

The next book by Michael J. Rosen, Oh Dear, Look What I Got!, will be published in September 2025.

The first book by Michael J. Rosen, Smelly Jelly Smelly Fish, was published in November 1986.

No. Michael J. Rosen does not write books in series.