It started with a baseball game, when Michael Rosen's seven-year-old son Ripton invited some older boys over to his family's penthouse for snacks and Nintendo after joining their pick-up game in Tomkins Square Park. These visits became more frequent, and soon these boys, all black and Hispanic neighbours living in public and subsidized housing, became part of the Rosen's family. Over time Michael and his wife Leslie became like parents to these boys, and like parents everywhere, decided to help them succeed. So began a remarkable relationship between the Rosen family and five of the boys in particular, beautifully and movingly chronicled in What Else But Home ,a love story unlike any other, of a family that opened its door and heart and learned that whatever our racial and economic differences, baseball conquers all.
Michael Rosen is a former Children's Laureate and the bestselling author of We're Going on a Bear Hunt (which won the Smarties Best Book of the Year Award) and many other books. He has also presented Word of Mouth on BBC Radio 4 since 1998. He has a Phd in Education, been awarded five extra honorary doctorates by various universities and made Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature) by the French government. In 2013 he became Professor of Education Studies at Goldsmiths. Find out more on Michael's website: www.michaelrosen.co.uk