Don't Put Mustard in the Custard (Picture Books)

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Michael Rosen, a recent British Children’s Laureate, has written many acclaimed books for children, including WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and I’M NUMBER ONE and THIS IS OUR HOUSE, both illustrated by Bob Graham. Michael Rosen lives in London. Don't put confetti on the spaghetti and don't squash peas on your knees. Don't put ants in your pants don't put mustard in the custard ...

Don’t’ by Michael Rosen Activity sheet for ‘Don’t’ by Michael Rosen

Today is World Poetry Day and to celebrate I thought I would review a book of poems by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Quentin Blake– Don’t Put Mustard in the Custard. My edition was published in 1987 by Fontana Picture Lions. I loved this book when I was younger, the poems in it are funny, silly and thought provoking. (Please excuse the unidentified smears of what I can only assume is food on the front cover there – a sign that a book has been truly loved by children.) You Can’t Catch Me' and 'You Can’t Put Mustard in the Custard' were first published 25 years ago and were groundbreaking collections of poems for children. The layout of the book is designed in a simple yet exciting way. Quentin Blake's illustrations add a whole new dynamic complementing Rosen's poems wonderfully, helping children to engage with the book, especially those that cannot yet read. The rhyming verse helps devlop children's vocabulary whilst encouraging them to participate in speaking out as they find themselves remembering what words come next. Ah that’s brill! Not sure if this version is still in print but there a few collections of Michael Rosen poetry books available.Michael Rosen has again teamed up with Quentin Blake to bring their two very popular poetry books together: ‘You Can’t Catch Me’ and ‘Don’t Put Mustard in the Custard’. A generous collection of poems with varying lengths detailing Rosen’s observations and comments on daily occurrences and random spoken words. With Blake’s vivid full-colour illustrations and Rosen’s conversational and occasionally nonsensical prose this book could engage with children completely on their level making it a delightful read.

Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy | Centre for - CLPE

This sounds like a very entertaining book. My daughter is a bit too old for it, but one for my niece in a few years, I think!Exactly, creative writing needs space to be creative! They are brilliant poems and even though I think this book is out of print now there are plenty of Michael Rosen poetry books available. Thank you for reading! I love this collection of poems for children. There are funny poems, sad poems, poems that touch on all different aspects of childhood and everyday family life. The poems are made to be read aloud, as if you are just having a conversation with someone. They are also perfect for whatever time of the day; they can be used for bed time stories or for acting out poetry within the classroom. Michael Rosen manages to capture all the funny, scary, worrying and down right silly thoughts that children have and write about them in a wonderfully free and engaging way. I love the way sounds and words are explored, expanded and repeated, they are so good to read out loud. His poems are a fantastic example of how writing should be, especially for children. He shows that any topic can be written about in any way and at any length because what makes writing exciting is being free to get your creative thoughts down on paper. Not how long your sentences are. Oh! What a fabulous read. Very good collection of neat, lucid, and beautiful poems. Brilliant illustrations, as always, by Quentin Blake.

Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy | Centre for - CLPE Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy | Centre for - CLPE

As a child, it was refreshing to read these poems by Michael Rosen, published in a proper book, because guess what? Some of them DON’T RHYME! Scandalous. I had no idea how to even go about writing a poem that didn’t rhyme because it obviously wasn’t in the national curriculum then. I shared this book recently with my bigger boy and the poem that the title of the book is taken from, “ Don’t”, is his favourite.This is a collection of Michael Rosen’s best poems, together with a CD for an audio book. I hadn’t read Michael Rosen since childhood – I had remembered his delight of nonsense words, but as an adult I appreciated the way he captures life from the child’s viewpoint. Some made me laugh, others made me cry.