Published Friday 12 June 2026 at 15:01
Hundreds of excited schoolchildren erupted into loud cheers and rounds of applause when legendary author and poet Michael Rosen made a special guest appearance at the Blackburn with Darwen Children’s Literature Festival.
One of Britain’s best-loved children’s authors, Rosen had the youngsters laughing from the off when he introduced himself as ‘Michael Raisin’ after his favourite food.
The author is perhaps best known for writing the classic We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, which has sold millions of copies worldwide, and, from 2007 to 2009, he served as the UK’s Children’s Laureate – a prestigious role that champions children’s literature and reading.
Much to the delight of the children, Michael hosted a special event at the recently reopened Cotton Exchange, where they enthusiastically joined in with favourites including Chocolate Cake and Nice – impressively knowing all the words and the actions too.
The event is part of a packed programme for the 2026 festival – the ninth to be hosted in the borough – with free sessions and activities taking place in libraries and schools across the area for two weeks until June 20.
The hugely successful festival was founded by award-winning Blackburn author Christina Gabbitas, a proud patron of the Blackburn with Darwen Library Service.
Every year, she works closely with the Council’s library team and a host of volunteers to deliver the event. In addition to volunteering her time on the festivals for the past nine years, Christina has this year kindly funded the Michael Rosen visit and 300 copies of his latest popular book, Ridiculous Raps and Rhymes, all signed by the author himself.
She will be gifting copies in Darwen Library on Saturday, June 13, along with a selection of authors books, and Blackburn Library on Saturday, June 20, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Speaking about Michael’s visit, Christina said:
Michael certainly added the wow factor to this year’s festival. He was both very entertaining and gracious, and as we entered the building, there was an absolute roar from the audience.
It was the most exciting and rewarding moment to see the smiles on the children’s faces and the audience participation, surpassing anything I could have imagined.
It was an absolute pleasure to bring Michael Rosen to Blackburn.
Alongside Michael, the 2026 programme includes sessions with successful and award-winning creatives from across the borough, including Christina Gabbitas herself, Iqbal Hussain, Hafiza Issa and illustrator Reyhana Ismail.
Authors Sarah Surgey, Ben Davis, Donavan Christopher, Richard O’Neill, Oliver Sykes, Adisa, Dom Conlon, Dommy B and Ursula Hurst will also take part.
Meanwhile, Angus Baskerville, star of Autism’s Got Talent, will perform a magic show at the Hornby Theatre on Saturday, June 20.
Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Councillor Phil Riley, said:
What a rock star welcome Michael Rosen got when he visited Blackburn – it was absolutely phenomenal!
All of the children, many of whom have grown up reading his books, were excited to see him and it was a joy to watch them recite every word of his poems off by heart and perform all the actions too. Just brilliant.
What an opportunity for them to meet such a famous author – an experience they will never forget, and us too – a big thank you to Christina and everyone involved.
The council is proud to support the Blackburn with Darwen Children’s Literature Festival as it plays such an important role in encouraging young people to read.
Everyone who was lucky enough to attend the event will have no doubt left feeling inspired.
Timed to coincide with the festival and the National Year of Reading celebrations, the Children’s Library at Blackburn Central Library on Town Hall Street has been given an impressive makeover.
There’s also a brand-new library service website featuring a full guide to events, details of library services and a host of digital resources – from free e-books and audiobooks to language-learning courses and more.
If you’re not already a library member, you can also quickly register on the website – opening up a huge number of resources both online and in the borough’s five libraries themselves.
Christina added:
I’m grateful to Blackburn with Darwen Council, the Library Service, Darwen Town Council, Darwen Rotary, Lloyds Trust and CILIP Green Libraries, with National Lottery funding, for helping to fund this annual event.
A special thank you also to Andrew Orr and Adele Karwat from the Blackburn library team for all their support and dedication over the past eight years.
Such is the popularity of the festival that many of the events have already sold out.
Check out the full programme of events and find out more information about Blackburn with Darwen Libraries at: www.bwdlibraries.com.