Rosen and Blake team up for poems on migration

Michael Rosen and Sir Quentin Blake have teamed up for a collection of poems about migration and displacement, to be published by Walker Books.

On The Move is released on 1st October 2020 in hardback. World all language rights to the poems were bought by Jane Winterbotham from Charles Walker, and pictures from Caradoc King, both at United Agents

The book sees Rosen's poems illustrated by Blake and split into four with the first part drawing on the poet's childhood as part of a first-generation Polish family living in London. The second features his perception of the Second World War as a young boy while the third focuses on his "missing" relatives and the Holocaust. The final selection takes on global experiences of migration.

The synopsis describes the book as: “A beautiful, affecting and impactful collection that will pull on your emotions and make you think, and a tool to encourage a deeper exploration of the reasons for and emotions surrounding migration of all kinds, across human history to the present day. On The Move is by turns charming, shocking and heart-breaking, this is an anthology with a story to tell and a powerful point to make."

A further Rosen book, Honey For You, Honey for Me, is published on 3rd September by Walker. Written with another former laureate, Chris Riddell, it is a collection of nursery rhymes and Rosen's first release since his battle with Covid-19 earlier this year.