Good Days: An A-Z of Hope and Happiness

by Michael Rosen

An A-Z of hope and happiness from poet, Sunday Times bestselling author and national treasure Michael Rosen, with 26 ideas for bringing joy into every day

Discover a world where finding joy is as simple as ABC...

In an uncertain world, we need hope and happiness more than ever. So what are the words that can help us find it? Let Michael Rosen take you on a quest for joy in his dictionary of delights, where each letter of the alphabet offers us a moment of daily enchantment, celebrating the magic of the small things that bring hope and happiness into our lives.

Perfect for dipping into whenever you need a boost, open this joyful compendium to discover a new vocabulary of delight that will lift your spirits and brighten your day

Genres: Nonfiction

266 pages, Hardcover

Published September 4, 2025

About the author

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.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Jasmine D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A joyful read!

[Josepha Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is divided into twenty six chapters with one for each letter of the alphabet. The intention is to bring hope. I recommend dipping into the book rather than reading straight through. I responded better to some chapters than others. Michael Rosen mentions his severe illness with Covid and the tragic death of his teenage son. He also talks about his parents and his jewish background including the Holocaust. Did I find anything useful in the book to incorporate into my own life? Probably not but I enjoyed the read.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Good Days - An A-Z of Hope and Happiness' (2005) is the kind of book and title that I wouldn't even consider looking at, let alone reading, sounding as it does like a million and one other feelgood/fix your life tomes flooding the market and yet... Because it's written by former Children's Laureate, poet and broadcaster Michael Rosen, this felt like something different, something more interesting.

Rosen doesn't profess to be provided a book to fix your life, rather a series of 26 thoughts/themes to propose to the reader that given some consideration, may lead to more good days than bad days - and Rosen should know, having had way more than his fair share of the bad days.

As the book will atest - Rosen lost one of his sons at the tragically young age of 18 and nearly lost his own life to COVID-19, being in hospital for around a month and a half and having been on a very long road to recovery afterwards.

So, no earth-shatteringly new ideas here from Michael Rosen, but it's a great read nevertheless. Rosen is very listenable to as a broadcaster, poet and proves likewise as a writer - there's plenty here for the reader to think about and to take stock of in their own life.

[Felicity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this after Christmas as a treat to myself as I have enjoyed Rosen's other books and I thought it would be a pleasant book to dip in to during January.

This book is divided in to 26 chapters and each one has an idea of how to have a good day. This might sound mediocre but Rosen discusses many deeper topics from his life and includes reading "Candide" and listening to music as methods of having a good day.

I really enjoyed this and found it reflective and philosophical as well as practical. I liked his method of going to sleep. Might need to use that one occasionally! Much of it was common sense but beautifully written and I learned a few things too.

A pleasant book to dip in and out of. Perfect for this time of year.

[Heather H · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting little book that I’ve dipped Into most days over the last 2-3 weeks. Perhaps it might have been better to ration it and follow some of the suggestions more closely - but nevertheless I was pleased to see that I already do a number of the things Rosen suggests to make each day good, or to at least increase the chances. And what’s better, there were places where I genuinely chuckled - and that doesn’t happen too often - particularly when reading non fiction!
If you feel you’ve lost a bit of the spark and are looking for some ideas for getting back some wonder in life, you might find a couple of ideas here along with the interesting tales of Rosen’s long and varied life.

[Hunenka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess this just wasn't a book for me; I liked the idea of it, but felt like the author was way too chatty (while probably intending to be witty) and there were pages where I was like, 'Just get to the point already! We don't need to know whose name is real and whose name you altered!'.

There were some good ideas in there, but I don't know, the book would've worked better as short notes (basically just the end-chapter suggestions) than whatever this was.

[Margaret Gregg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having taught a lot of his poetry over the years, and using his 'Sad Book' to support children and watching him talk about this book on stage, it felt rather personal.
It is not a book that you can just pick up and read; it is a book that you need to read or have the headspace for at the time. It does make you stop and think about events in your own life's journey.

[Kashvi Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

so inspiring, so thoughtful, i loved it!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book because I saw Michael Rosen talking about it on TV and he seemed such a lovely, engaging man. I didn't regret it and ge comes across just like that in the book too.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good in parts - not really a book to read straight through, I found it rather rambling and long-winded.

[Sarah Carritt]

Brilliant stuff 🥰