Michael Rosen's Sad Book
Illustrated by
03 January 2011Synopsis
A heartbreakingly honest account of a father’s grief for his son from the illustrious pairing of two former Children’s Laureates.
Very occasionally the term non-fiction has to stretch itself to accommodate a book that fits into no category at all. Michael Rosen's Sad Book is such a book. It chronicles Michael's grief at the death of his son Eddie from meningitis at the age of 19. A moving combination of sincerity and simplicity, it acknowledges that sadness is not always avoidable or reasonable and perfects the art of making complicated feelings plain. It wasn't made like any other book either; Michael Rosen said of the text, " I wrote it at a moment of extreme feeling and it went straight down onto the page ... Quentin didn't illustrate it, he 'realized' it. He turned the text into a book and as a result showed me back to myself. No writer could ask and get more than that." And Quentin Blake says that the picture of Michael "being sad but trying to look happy" is the most difficult drawing he's ever done... "a moving experience."
Details
03 January 2011
9781406317848Reviews
With emotional elegance and nuance, he welcomes and unpicks each layer of mourning and explains why it’s ok to be sad. A painful, yet surprisingly uplifting read that’s suitable for both children and adults.The Independent
A beautifully illustrated read for adults and children about love and loss which explains why it's ok to be sad sometimesPsychologies Magazine
If you read just one book to a child who has experienced the death of someone close to them it should be (this)Daily Telegraph
Explains sadness and grief in a manner that children can comprehendGobblefunked