Michael Rosen
A very important part of writing for children is appearing at book festivals, and in libraries and schools. An important part of becoming a writer for children is seeing what published writers do and say when they appear.
We know that the ability to take on complex ideas, to handle the notion of a multiplicity of viewpoints, to deal in abstract thought relies on a person's experience of reading widely and often - in combination with open-ended but challenging discussion.
If we are serious about enabling those who want to acquire what we have called standard English then first we should be honest about change and its lack of encoded rules. Then, together with them, we should look closely at how such people's speech and writing diverges from the kind of English that they would like to acquire.
Social groups in society don't swim about in some kind of harmonious melting pot. We rub against each other from very different and opposing positions, so why we should agree about language use and the means of describing it is beyond me.
I can't think of how many meetings I've sat through where people have explained that language has become less important because we now live in a visual age.
Linguists have noticed that across the history of language some words start out as obvious, conscious metaphors and then slowly embed themselves in our daily usage in such a way that we're no longer aware that they are metaphors.
Any child who reads widely, often and for pleasure will inevitably make comparisons between what they're reading, why they're reading and how they're reading.
We need all people, everyone, to think for themselves, to think critically, to think abstractly, to develop their powers of empathy.
What's difficult to do in books for children is to create funny incidents. Funny images, funny language and any kind of taboo-breaking is not difficult.
Anyone who was once a child should have at least one children's book in them.Collection: Children
Writing can be a bit like unfolding something...Slowly, the writer reveals what's happening. But that's only half of what's going on. Writers are very cunning people who are not only unfolding and revealing. Just like conjurors and magicians, they are hiding stuff too.Collection: Writing
Sometimes I don't want to talk about it. Not to anyone. No one. No one at all. I just want to think about it on my own. Because it is mine. And no one else's.Collection: Hate
Commitment is not a barrier to freedom. Commitment is the *exercise* of freedom, the act of making a choice or decision and meaning it. The one without the other is meaningless.Collection: Commitment
Living with a dog is one way to retain something of a child's spirit.Collection: Dog