A heartbreakingly honest account of a father's grief for his son from the illustrious pairing of two former Children's Laureates
Very occasionally the term non‐fiction has to stretch itself to accommodate a book that fits into no category at all
Michael Rosen's Sad Book is such a book
It chronicles Michael's grief at the death of his son Eddie from meningitis at the age of 19
A moving combination of sincerity and simplicity, it acknowledges that sadness is not always avoidable or reasonable and perfects the art of making complicated feelings plain
It wasn't made like any other book either; Michael Rosen said of the text, ” I wrote it at a moment of extreme feeling and it went straight down onto the page
Quentin didn't illustrate it, he 'realized' it
He turned the text into a book and as a result showed me back to myself
No writer could ask and get more than that
” And Quentin Blake says that the picture of Michael ”being sad but trying to look happy” is the most difficult drawing he's ever done
