The second in a funny new series from former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen and rising star Robert Starling.

Look out, this squirrel is HUNGRY. So hungry it could eat boiled rice, chocolate mice, a gingerbread man … even a frying pan! Is there anything it WON’T eat?

A rollicking ride of increasing absurdity and imagination, this hilarious picture book captures the occasional outlandishness of toddler moods. Based on the popular poem from A Great Big Cuddle, I Am Hungry is a terrific read-aloud from the master of rhyme, Michael Rosen, coupled with brilliantly bold illustration from Robert Starling.

I Am Hungry is a young children’s picture book by author Michael Rosen. Before I get into this review, I need to let you know that to understand this story, get the humour, and enjoy the end you have to read the intro in which Michael explains what happens when he is hungry and asks the reader to join in with his weird suggestions of what to eat.

To be honest I missed the intro at first and was baffled by some of the pages, especially the end, but then it all came together after reading those few words at the start.

In this book, we meet a very hungry squirrel. The squirrel sets off to eat everything that they can, including things that are not actually food items.

The story is told in a rhyming style and has just a few words on each page. The pages are also adorned with full-page, colourful illustrations that are amusing to look at and bring joy to the book.

Overall, this is a cute, fun, quick read that you can just read through or you can join in and see what wacky non-food stuff you would eat if you were really hungry.

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.