Michael Rosen and Annemarie Young: Interview
In 2016, the book Who are Refugees and Migrants? What Makes People Leave Their Homes? And Other Big Questions was published. Written by children's authors Michael Rosen and Annemarie Young, it also features contributions from others with experiences of immigration like comedian Omid Djalili and poet Benjamin Zephaniah.
When Michael Rosen and Annemarie Young came into the Listening Books studios to record the audiobookrecorded the audiobook, we chatted to them about the ideas behind the book, reading aloud, and their own history of migration.
Annemarie Young on Why The Book is Important:
‘I think it’s really important to start talking about these issues with children’.
Michael Rosen on The Creation of the Book:
'We'd done a book on Humanism, and we were talking about what else we could write about'.
Michael Rosen on His Family History:
'I've only really discovered what happened to some of my relatives recently'.
Annemarie Young on Being a Migrant:
'I really wanted to get across what it does feel like to be different'.
Michael Rosen and Annemarie Young on Reading to Audiences:
'Face-to-face communication is an extremely powerful thing. It's actually about belief and truth.'
Michael Rosen on The Art of Performing:
'So I shamble on to a stage and pretend that I'm just chatting, but it's a complete disguise!'
Annemarie Young on What Influenced Her to Become a Writer:
'We spoke French at home and my mother used to tell me stories in French'.
Michael Rosen on Writing for Children:
'You imagine that child reading that and think 'well, would they be able to get that?''
Michael Rosen on What Influenced Him to Become a Writer:
'There was a moment. It was when I read 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' by James Joyce.'
Clip from the audiobook
Michael Rosen describes his family's experiences with migration, and reflects upon the many possible reasons that can cause people to leave their homes.
If you want to listen to 'Who are Refugees and Migrants...?', Listening Books members can download and stream the audiobook now!
Thank you very much to Michael Rosen and Annemarie Young for speaking to us!
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Article originally published 13/11/17.
