Happy Birthday Michael Rosen!
Hello Balloonists!
On the Dirigible Balloon we have approximately 500 poets from around the world who have sent us their lovely poems for you to read. Happy poems, sad poems, funny poems, weird poems, poems that take you on exciting adventures and poems to make you stop and think.
Our poets are a wonderful bunch of brilliant writers. All of them are very talented: some poets are new to creating poems, some have been writing for a long time, some you might not have heard of before and others who are very famous in the world of poetry.
Today is a very special day because on this day (Wednesday 7th May 2025) it is the 79th birthday of our most famous poet. Today we shall be featuring a writer who is very well-known indeed. He is loved by many for his excellent books which have been favourites in schools, libraries and homes for years. He is instantly recognisable by millions of children and their parents (in fact these parents probably know his poems and stories from when they were kids).
So, without further ado, it is with great pleasure that the Dirigible Balloon would like to wish
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On the Dirigible Balloon we have approximately 500 poets from around the world who have sent us their lovely poems for you to read. Happy poems, sad poems, funny poems, weird poems, poems that take you on exciting adventures and poems to make you stop and think.
Our poets are a wonderful bunch of brilliant writers. All of them are very talented: some poets are new to creating poems, some have been writing for a long time, some you might not have heard of before and others who are very famous in the world of poetry.
Today is a very special day because on this day (Wednesday 7th May 2025) it is the 79th birthday of our most famous poet. Today we shall be featuring a writer who is very well-known indeed. He is loved by many for his excellent books which have been favourites in schools, libraries and homes for years. He is instantly recognisable by millions of children and their parents (in fact these parents probably know his poems and stories from when they were kids).
So, without further ado, it is with great pleasure that the Dirigible Balloon would like to wish
Michael Rosen (writer, teacher, lecturer, television and radio presenter, poet and Children’s Laureate from 2007 – 2009) was born on May 7th 1946 in Harrow, Middlesex. ![]()
He grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and went to a nursery school called Tyneholme in Wealdstone. He then went to a primary school called Pinner Wood and one called West Lodge, where he was one of the first ever pupils there.
His parents, Harold and Connie Rosen, were teachers, readers and great storytellers who went on to become university lecturers. When Michael was born, his dad was in the American Army in Germany but when he came home, he became an English teacher in secondary schools. When Michael was two years old, his mum trained to be a primary school teacher. His parents had been brought up in what is now called Tower Hamlets, his mum in Bethnal Green and his dad in Whitechapel.
Some of Michael’s grandparents and great grandparents were immigrants from Poland, Russia and Romania (they spoke a language that some Jewish people speak, Yiddish). Michael’s parents sometimes spoke bits of Yiddish as well, though after English, his father’s best language was French. He could also speak German and read Latin.
When he was 11, Michael went to a school called Harrow Weald County Grammar School. He loved doing acting and writing stories and he started to write poems. In his spare time, he joined an acting club called the Young Questors at the Questors Theatre in Ealing, where Michael learned how to act and direct plays.
When he was 17, Michael moved schools to Watford Boys Grammar School. He thought that he would like to be a doctor so he then went to the Middlesex Hospital Medical School and later Wadham College, Oxford. Finding that he wasn’t enjoying his medical course, he changed to English Language and Literature. During his time at university, he spent many hours writing, acting and directing plays.
After university, Michael went to work for the BBC. Initially he worked on radio plays and documentaries, then he went to work for a children’s programme called ‘Playschool’. After that, he worked in BBC Schools Television where he wrote a programme helping very young children to learn how to read which was called ‘Sam on Boff’s Island’.
Michael has been a freelance writer, teacher, journalist, performer, broadcaster and university professor. A good deal of Michael’s poems are about his life between the ages of about 2 and 12. These poems are in such books as:
Mind Your Own Business (with Quentin Blake’s wonderful illustrations); Wouldn’t You Like To Know? ; You Tell Me (with Roger McGough) ; The Hypnotiser (Michael’s son Joe filmed him performing all the poems from this book) ; Quick, Let’s Get Out of Here (Puffin); You Wait Till I’m Older Than You (Puffin); Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy (Bloomsbury); Michael’s Big Book of Bad Things (Puffin); Even my Ears are Smiling (Bloomsbury); Jelly Boots, Smelly Boots (Bloomsbury)
There is also a book for children called Michael Rosen’s Scrapbook (in the Treetops series, for the Oxford Reading Tree) and a book about his life called All About Me (Collins Educational).
He has written and edited well over 200 books for both children and adults. He is loved in schools by pupils and teachers for his wonderful stories and poems.
In 2007 he was appointed Children's Laureate, a role which he held until 2009. While Laureate, Michael set up The Roald Dahl Funny Prize which later became the Laugh Out Loud Award (the Lollies). Michael and his son Joe have created a YouTube Channel - 'Kids' Poems and Stories with Michael Rosen' which has had over 100 million views.
Some of Michael’s latest books include:
Many Different Kinds of Love: A story of life, death and the NHS;
Getting Better: Life lessons on going under, getting over it, and getting through it;
The Incredible Adventures of Gaston le Dog;
Out Of This World: A brand new collection of poems to make you laugh, smile and think;
Rosen’s Almanac: Weird and wonderful words for every day of the year;
One Day: A True Story of Courage and Survival in the Holocaust
and Poems About Education
Michael loves football and is a passionate supporter of Arsenal FC.
We hope Michael has a lovely 79th birthday and we wish him and his family all the best, from JH and the crew of the Dirigible Balloon xxx
If you’d like to find out more about his life and work, his website can be found at https://www.michaelrosen.co.uk
His parents, Harold and Connie Rosen, were teachers, readers and great storytellers who went on to become university lecturers. When Michael was born, his dad was in the American Army in Germany but when he came home, he became an English teacher in secondary schools. When Michael was two years old, his mum trained to be a primary school teacher. His parents had been brought up in what is now called Tower Hamlets, his mum in Bethnal Green and his dad in Whitechapel.
Some of Michael’s grandparents and great grandparents were immigrants from Poland, Russia and Romania (they spoke a language that some Jewish people speak, Yiddish). Michael’s parents sometimes spoke bits of Yiddish as well, though after English, his father’s best language was French. He could also speak German and read Latin.
When he was 11, Michael went to a school called Harrow Weald County Grammar School. He loved doing acting and writing stories and he started to write poems. In his spare time, he joined an acting club called the Young Questors at the Questors Theatre in Ealing, where Michael learned how to act and direct plays.
When he was 17, Michael moved schools to Watford Boys Grammar School. He thought that he would like to be a doctor so he then went to the Middlesex Hospital Medical School and later Wadham College, Oxford. Finding that he wasn’t enjoying his medical course, he changed to English Language and Literature. During his time at university, he spent many hours writing, acting and directing plays.
After university, Michael went to work for the BBC. Initially he worked on radio plays and documentaries, then he went to work for a children’s programme called ‘Playschool’. After that, he worked in BBC Schools Television where he wrote a programme helping very young children to learn how to read which was called ‘Sam on Boff’s Island’.
Michael has been a freelance writer, teacher, journalist, performer, broadcaster and university professor. A good deal of Michael’s poems are about his life between the ages of about 2 and 12. These poems are in such books as:
Mind Your Own Business (with Quentin Blake’s wonderful illustrations); Wouldn’t You Like To Know? ; You Tell Me (with Roger McGough) ; The Hypnotiser (Michael’s son Joe filmed him performing all the poems from this book) ; Quick, Let’s Get Out of Here (Puffin); You Wait Till I’m Older Than You (Puffin); Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy (Bloomsbury); Michael’s Big Book of Bad Things (Puffin); Even my Ears are Smiling (Bloomsbury); Jelly Boots, Smelly Boots (Bloomsbury)
There is also a book for children called Michael Rosen’s Scrapbook (in the Treetops series, for the Oxford Reading Tree) and a book about his life called All About Me (Collins Educational).
He has written and edited well over 200 books for both children and adults. He is loved in schools by pupils and teachers for his wonderful stories and poems.
In 2007 he was appointed Children's Laureate, a role which he held until 2009. While Laureate, Michael set up The Roald Dahl Funny Prize which later became the Laugh Out Loud Award (the Lollies). Michael and his son Joe have created a YouTube Channel - 'Kids' Poems and Stories with Michael Rosen' which has had over 100 million views.
Some of Michael’s latest books include:
Many Different Kinds of Love: A story of life, death and the NHS;
Getting Better: Life lessons on going under, getting over it, and getting through it;
The Incredible Adventures of Gaston le Dog;
Out Of This World: A brand new collection of poems to make you laugh, smile and think;
Rosen’s Almanac: Weird and wonderful words for every day of the year;
One Day: A True Story of Courage and Survival in the Holocaust
and Poems About Education
Michael loves football and is a passionate supporter of Arsenal FC.
We hope Michael has a lovely 79th birthday and we wish him and his family all the best, from JH and the crew of the Dirigible Balloon xxx
If you’d like to find out more about his life and work, his website can be found at https://www.michaelrosen.co.uk
This poem is copyright (©) Jonathan Humble 2025
About the Writer
Jonathan Humble
Jonathan lives in Cumbria. His work has been published online and in print in a number of magazines and anthologies. His first collection of poetry, My Camel's Name Is Brian, was published by TMB Books in 2015. His second poetry book, Fledge came out in 2020 through Maytree Press. His poems for children have been shortlisted and highly commended in the Caterpillar and Yorkmix poetry competitions and he is the editor of The Dirigible Balloon. His poems Masterclass and This Work is Done were chosen as the Milk House Poem of the Year at the end of 2022 and 2023.
