Hachette Children’s Group nabs "mind-fizzingly funny" title from Michael Rosen

Hachette Children’s Group has snapped up Totally True (and totally silly) Bedtime Stories, a one-off collection of non-fiction stories by Michael Rosen, aimed at readers aged five to seven and illustrated by Emily Fox.

Editorial director Emily Lunn and senior commissioning editor Anna Martin acquired world rights from Olivia Martin at United Agents for the writing, while art director Samuel Perrett bought the illustrations from Caroline Thomson at Arena Illustration for Fox. The book will be published in hardback in October 2024.

The blurb reads: "Guaranteed to replace snores at bedtime with hoots of laughter, national treasure Michael Rosen delivers mind-fizzingly funny – and totally TRUE – bedtime stories in this beautifully illustrated volume. From the story of dogs who learned to drive to the fish who is best friends with a diver, this stunning collection is full of giggles and guffaws, for an altogether more side-splitting sleep-time."

Lunn said: "Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction in these completely silly, joyful true stories. Wonderfully written by literary hero Michael Rosen and with Emily Fox’s fizzing illustrations, this book is a thoroughly enjoyable end to the day for parents and young readers to share together."

Rosen added: "The world is a strange and wonderful place. Every day people do strange and wonderful things. I wanted to capture a flavour of this in a way that young children could find interesting and funny. I hope that parents, grandparents, older siblings and anyone sharing books with children will enjoy these. They are a window on who we are."

Fox said: "As a big fan of Michael Rosen’s work I was delighted to be asked to illustrate the book. Who wouldn’t love to be drawing dancing elephants, a hummingbird hospital and a dog that can drive... I can’t wait to share this special collection of totally true bedtime stories."