Michael Rosen

Farewell to the outgoing UK Children's Laureate poet Michael Rosen... (new Laureate 2009 - 2011 Anthony Browne).
Some comments on what he has seen visiting UK schools :
"There is a huge push on to create an environment (in junior classes) where books are secondary to the process of reading. This seems oxymoronic to me. We must, must have at the heart of learning to read the pleasure that is reading. Otherwise why bother?... You need a reason to read..."

"The core idea of literature is that we can re-present our lives and imaginations and that is much more important than the business of getting letters right. The stuff going on in schools (worksheets) is denying the basis of what literature is for - the shared conversation about who we are or might be, what we think, what we imagine, what we feel..."

"If we believe in the value and power of books, stories, poems and plays, we also have to remember that it will never be enough simply to publish good stuff. We have to be committed, ingenious, flexible and experimental in coming up with ways of making all that literature come alive for every single child - no exceptions allowed."