Book Synopsis"If you didn't know whether to risk doing something, what's the worst that could happen? 'So they call you pisher!'"In this humorous and moving memoir, Michael Rosen recalls the first twenty-three years of his life. Born in the North London suburbs, his parents, Harold and Connie, both teachers, first met as teenage Communists in the 1930s Jewish East End. The family home was filled with stories of relatives in London, the United States and France and of those who had disappeared in Europe.Unlike the children around them, Rosen and his brother Brian grew up dreaming of a socialist revolution; Party meetings were held in the front room, summers were for communist camping holidays, till it all changed after a trip to East Germany, when in 1957 his parents decided to leave "the Party." Michael followed his own journey of radical self-discovery: running away to the Aldermaston March to ban the bomb, writing and performing in experimental political theatre, getting arrested during the 1968 movements.Trade Review"In his writing, he puts on no airs; his literary background (English degree from Wadham, Oxford) has not held him up - or back. Sometimes his writing is so simple, you wonder at it: how did he resist the temptation to dress it up? He knows - in his work at least - when to stop." -- Kate Kellaway * The Observer *A storyteller, performer and broadcaster as well as a poet and sometime prankster. He has been involved in producing over 140 children's books. He has a warm, witty and generous style - there is nothing precious about his work . . .He is a fierce critic of the tick-box teaching of literature in schools and has spent his life trying to put the imagination and fun back into books. There are few forms of wordsmithing at which Mr Rosen does not excel. * Guardian *The lovely thing about Rosen's writing is that it is rooted in the reality of his own post-war childhood - you can smell the matzo bray his father makes as a treat when his mother is out, hear the wheels squeak on his go-kart, sense the thrill of him and his 10-year-old friend Mart on holiday climbing the Sugar Loaf mountain and crossing from Wales into England with their trousers down. * Guardian *Throughout his career, Rosen has inspired children and adults to fall in love with reading. * Independent *Rosen's trademark style and humour are everywhere in his pared-down prose, evoking the north London suburbs with his communist parents, Harold and Connie, who first met as impoverished teenagers in the Jewish East End of the 1930s. From memories of his Shakespeare-quoting father, to forging his own path towards becoming a professional writer, this memoir is also a powerful love letter to literature. * Observer *He's too good a story-teller for this book not to be worth your while. * Spectator *Humorous and moving ... A memorable and worthwhile read from a principled man who celebrates the funny side of life. * Irish Times *He has the knack of instantly grabbing your attention ... Rosen seems to have the unusual gift of being able to write affectionately and intelligently about his family, without quite tipping over into schmaltz -- Ian Sansom * New Statesman *As with almost every experience in this memoir, it seems like a poem waiting to happen. * Jewish Chronicle *As you would expect from an excellent storyteller like Rosen, the book is full of humour and optimism but with twinges of sadness. * Socialist Review *This hugely engaging memoir excavates the theatre of the mind and memory ... His anarchic humour, which is the hallmark of his children's poetry, threads throughout. * Morning Star *
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