BELOVED children's author and poet Michael Rosen thrilled youngsters by visiting their Malvern primary school.

The former Children’s Laureate gave a hilarious performance at Great Malvern Primary when he launched their annual Big Book Week which coincided with World Book Day.

Children at the school were treated to an energetic and characteristically funny performance by Mr Rosen who then personally signed hundreds of books and visited classrooms answering children’s questions.

Michael Rosen said: “It was a real pleasure to meet such brilliantly responsive, sparky and hilarious children. I was knocked out by the kids – and by the teachers and staff all of whom are clearly doing an amazing job.”

Nikki Selby, head of school at Great Malvern Primary, added: “It was fantastic to see such an inspiring and famous author at our school in Malvern.

"This has been a week the children are never going to forget. Events such as World Book Day are important to inspire our children to develop a love of reading. Michael Rosen was just superb and fired the imaginations of our children.”

The children of Great Malvern Primary welcomed their guest in style by decorating the whole school, dressing up as words for a vocabulary parade and writing their own books. The school had also hosted a pop-up bookshop from Malvern Book Cooperative in the days before the visit ensuring all children had access to the authors’ books.

Mr Rosen is one of the best-known figures in the children's book world as well as being a Professor of Children’s Literature at Goldsmiths College. He is renowned for his work as a poet, performer, broadcaster and scriptwriter and has written over 200 books including the much-loved We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. He lectures and teaches in universities on children's literature, reading and writing.

Great Malvern Primary’s annual Big Book Week has attracted some of the top names in children’s books over the past years with authors such as Jeremy Strong, Andy Stanton, Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre sharing their enthusiasm and tips for writing with the children.