book cover

The Big Dreaming

by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Daniel Egnéus

Interest age: 4 to 5
Reading age: 7+

Published by Bloomsbury, 2023

  • Picture books

About this book

Winter is coming and that can only mean one thing for Big Bear and Little Bear. Soon it will be time for the Sleep or the Big Dreaming as Big Bear affectionately calls it a time when bears sleep all winter and wakin Spring. But Little Bear is worried. If he runs out of dreams during the long sleep, the Big Dreaming will be a Big Nothing!  

So Little Bear sets off alone in search of dreams, meeting a squirrel, a rabbit, and a wolf along the way. Each animal tells Little Bear of their dream; dreams that inspire feelings of happiness, homecoming and never losing hope. As the Cold arrives, Little Bear must hurry to find his way back to Big Bear for the long sleep… 

This heart-warming picture book from renowned children’s writeMichael Rosen has all the elements of a modern bedtime classic. The familiar caregiver relationship between the two bears and the gentle, lyrical text make this a lovely one to snuggle up and enjoy with little ones before their own sleep. Themes of hope, perseverance and homecoming will be comforting to sleepy young listeners whilst the stunning illustrations capture the mood of the passing seasons.  

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.

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