Dark Clouds

Michael Rosen's Sad Book

Written by: Michael Rosen

Illustrated by: Quentin Blake

Candlewick Press, 2004

32 pages

International Fiction

Michael Rosen is a very sad man.His son died and he just does not understand why. He tries to wear a smile to appear happy, but underneath is a broken and lonely man. Sometimes the sadness wraps itself completely around him and he just wants to be by himself and mourn on his own. He tries to do things to take his mind off this burden, but sadness always finds its way back. Will Michael be able to live again or will he remain in the shadows of his son's death?

The illustrations are depicted through the use of watercolor and ink. The colors are light and simple, but with a certain darkness to embody his sadness. The lines are imperfectly drawn with curves being their main characteristic in the book.

I chose English Language Arts for my subject and second grade as my grade level. Michael Rosen wrote a poem about sadness on page 17 of the book. I would instruct my students to write their own simple poems about it to work on their writing and poetry skills.