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Honey For You, Honey For Me

by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Chris Riddell

Interest age: 1 to 5

Published by Walker Books, 2020

  • Poetry and rhyme

About this book

In his brief introduction to this gorgeous book of nursery rhymes and playground songs, Michael Rosen explains that he is fascinated with the way that old rhymes are kept alive by word of mouth.

We all probably recognise the type of rhyme in this book from the playground ourselves, but many of them will not be familiar: some are, Rosen says, 'neglected gems' he has unearthed from old books of nursery rhymes, collected in his lifetime.

Sometimes they're just a couple of lines, like, 'Ippy dippy dation/My operation/How many buses/At the station?' And sometimes they're longer, like the counting song with many verses that begins, 'One, two, three/Mother finds a flea/Puts it in a teapot/And makes a cup of tea.'

All of them are colourfully illustrated in full page technicolour by Chris Riddell, from the sad rabbit with skipping rope ('Here am I/Little Jumping Joan/When nobody's with me/I'm all alone') to the children concentrating on pat-a-cake to the glorious owl peeking out from his tree with the rhyme: 'There was an owl lived in an oak/Wisky, wasky, weedle/And all the words he ever spoke were/Fiddle, faddle, feedle.'

Parents of little ones and those working in early years settings will love this book full of quick, repeating chants and songs, often funny, which can help toddlers and pre-schoolers develop their language skills, practise sounds and have fun following along.

About the author

Michael Rosen is one of Britain’s best loved writers and performance poets for children and adults. His first degree in English Literature and Language was from Wadham College, Oxford and he went on to study for an MA at the University of Reading and a PhD at the former University of North London, now London Metropolitan.

He is currently Professor of Children’s Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London where he co-devised and teaches critical approaches to reading on an MA in Children’s Literature, having done the same at Birkbeck, University of London. He has taught on MA courses in universities since 1994.

He was the Children’s Laureate from 2007 to 2009 and has published over 200 books for children and adults, including the recent bestseller Many Different Kinds of Love and On The Move.

About the illustrator

Chris Riddell is an award-winning illustrator and acclaimed political cartoonist. He is currently the only artist to have won the Kate Greenaway Medal three times, most recently for his illustrations in Neil Gaiman's The Sleeper and the Spindle. He was recently announced as a BookTrust ambassador.

Chris Riddell has illustrated the work of many celebrated children's authors, including five Neil Gaiman titles and J. K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard. He is the author of the bestselling Goth Girl and Ottoline series and co-creator of the much loved The Edge Chronicles.

He was the Waterstones Children's Laureate from 2015 to 2017.

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