Michael Rosens Book Of Very Silly Poems

by Michael Rosen

Are you pink and green? Are you totally obscene? Can you pick your nose? With your stubby little toes? Let your imagination run riot and laughter fill your belly as you explore traditional poems, rhymes with a twist, and subversive playground favourites in this playful treasure chest of verse.

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

First published June 27, 1996

About the author

Michael Rosen, a recent British Children’s Laureate, has written many acclaimed books for children, including WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and I’M NUMBER ONE and THIS IS OUR HOUSE, both illustrated by Bob Graham. Michael Rosen lives in London.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

These poems are great for readers of all ages. The book is split into different sections which each represent a sense of silliness, there are poems about monsters, food, animals, etc.
In these poems Rosen takes the reader on a journey of rhythm, humour and language offering a diverse collection of poems throughout. Every poem is written in a different way, some rhyme whilst others are more repetitive. Rosens writing style is incredibly inviting and provides a great chance for children to perform poetry aloud. The illustrations within the book really capture the various poems, complementing each one differently. Overall these poems are very playful, imaginative and leaves the readers with a smile on their face. This is a great book to show young readers how exciting poetry can be.

[Amit Tiwary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book!

[P Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Rosen’s book of very silly poems would be a great piece to introduce to KS2 children. It demonstrates how creative and fun poems can be, as each poem has a comical twist! It is sure to keep both yourself and the children entertained throughout!

The book consists of 37 poems, across topics such as food, relatives, animals, monsters etc. Following no set structure, every poem is written in a different style. Some poems rhyme, others use repetition and some are short in length etc. Therefore, there is sure to be a style for everyone! There are also fun illustrations to complement the text throughout - a bonus to engage the children!

Complimenting English lessons:
Identify the different writing styles in a number of selected poems (find the rhyming pattern etc), review a poem (What do they like? What do you dislike?), ask your children to create their own poem based on a poem structure of their choice, act out a poem of their choice in groups etc

[Lee Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Rosen’s Book Of Very Silly Poetry - Michael Rosen

What a wonderfully hilarious collection of poems. I love Michael Rosen’s books and this one was the best between books brain cleanser! ❤️

My favourite poem in this collection was My Old Man’s A Dustman - My Dad used to sing My Old Man’s A Dustman by Lonnie Donegan, I asked for Lonnie Donegan’s version to be played at my Dad’s funeral, my cousin somehow got the wrong version but it made me laugh nonetheless. I still remember the dad dancing too. lol
R.I.P Dad. 🎵👨‍🦳🗑️ 🧢👖🏠🍌🥾🎵

[Terri Zumbahlen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute delight in poetry. A lot of rhyming words with meaning or a question at the end. Great for an introduction to poetry to children. The poems are fun for adults as well as kiddos.

[Francesca Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to share with a KS2 class. The poems are engaging and there is a poem that can be found for everyone to enjoy. The book reminds me that poems can be fun! The poems are not only entertaining but there are a range of poetry techniques that can be discussed in the classroom.

[Lisa Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nise I love it

[Maria Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book compiles a range of poetry for children, but mainly targeted at KS2 level. The themes range from getting-dressed for younger children, festering foods including a hilarious short poem dedicated to school dinners, word plays and even alien like creatures. Rosen's collection can keep you entertained from start to finish whether the poem is rhythmical or not. Being young at heart myself, I found some poems really hilarious like the poem 'Are you pink and green?':
"...Can you pick your nose
With your stubby little toes?
Do your armpits smell?
Are you hairy there as well?..."

Some of the poems included in this book challenge children to play around with words which could make their own poems more interesting as demonstrated by the poem 'A Trip To Morrow':
"...To Morrow, to Morrow, I have to go to Morrow,
The ticket collector told me I have to go tomorrow."

I would utilise this book in an KS2 English Lesson where the children can write a poem about anything they wanted. This could encourage them to write about their own interest rather than a set one as a class. The poems are very much varied in Rosen's book itself and that's exactly what the class could do together. It could be collected into their own class book and that way all children can contribute and have a sense of achievement.

[Lucy Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Rosen is a wonderful children’s poet and certainly managed to capture my love of poetry. His funny, relatable and thought provoking poems are such a hook for young readers to introduce them to how wonderful poetry can be.