Fluff the Farting Fish (Rosen and Ross)

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A lot of the motifs, a lot of the ideas, scenes and scenarios from the thrillers we read as adults can be found in these works for younger readers. So, it’s a good reason to look at children’s books as they in actual fact reach right the way forward into the stuff we like as adults. So, when HWRK offered me the opportunity to talk with Michael about his writing, the importance of books that make you laugh and the ways that teachers can encourage children to read for pleasure, I was naturally all in. I hope you enjoy this half as much as I did. The nature of your work is so diverse; writing for and performing for children, radio shows on language, teaching at university. Do you see these as separate jobs or different sides of the same coin?

The easiest and best way is for two or three teachers to get together and have a little mini-reading group, just chatting about books. They can talk about it from their own point of view or possibly talk about what their own child or class thought of it. Start small, try to make it regular and more often than not it will take hold.They’re important because the foundations of everything that we see on TV, on films and that we read are laid down when we read as a child. For example; Enid Blyton’s books are, to an extent, manuals which teach us how to read whodunnits, detective books, adventures and thrillers. They’re full of the same principles of writing; there’s mysteries you have to unfold, red herrings that send you the wrong way. Babe couldn’t be further from the stereotype of pigs as the grotty, greedy, gruel-hogging farmyard bottom feeders. This orphaned piglet not only wins the hearts of Farmer Hogget and the animals on the farm and of course us, the readers, he perfects the art of shepherding proving that a pig can be so much more than just a swine. 2. Templeton from Charlotte’s Web by EB White and Garth Williams No, nowhere near. I love serious books, books that deal with the serious issues of our day, whether it’s climate change or race or generational/intergenerational stuff. However, it’s not that humour and humorous books don’t deal with these issues. This book works from nursery into LKS2. My three year old managed to make a connection from a Viking helmeted Fluff to Cressida Cowell and her How to Train Your Dragon characters, showing some visual literacy from Ross' illustrations. She was keen to remove her eyeball too, copying Jeff the Juggler, enjoying reading for pleasure, and came up with a response of "I wish we had a fish", deriving even more joy from an accidental rhyme.

Many people (and mainstream media) depict digital media as detrimental to children’s literacy. Do you agree with this or is there a role mobile phones and new technology can play in encouraging young people to read/write?I love that Despereaux refuses to conform, proving to us all not to judge a hero by it’s miniature, nonconforming whiskers. 6. The newt from Matilda by Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake Pig’s hilarious diary documents his time in the yard as he comes to the realisation that he’s being fattened up by the hungry farmer he adores. This is not intended to be a full statement of all your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations. Full details of your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations are available in the UK from your local Citizens' Advice Bureau or your Local Authority's Trading Standards Office. There just aren’t enough books out there that cast a fly as the hero. Well done Tedd Arnold, from me and all those of the Dipteran kingdom. Thanks to you my swatter is well and truly retired. Mr and Mrs Hurry are always rushing about. They never stop! But that means they forget some rather important things – like eating . . . and shopping . . . and taking their son Harry to school!