Hot Food: Nice! Hardcover by Michael Rosen; Illustrated by Neal Layton

Product Details

• Publisher: Candlewick (2026-01-13)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 32 pages
• ISBN-13: 9781536250060
• Item Weight: 328.86 grams
• Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.75 x 0.33 cm

Michael Rosen’s hilarious viral video poem is brought to life in picture book form by award-winning illustrator Neal Layton.

Young Michael thinks his dad knows everything. That is, until the fateful day when his family sits down to eat, and the potato is a bit hot. Michael knows to blow on the potato before eating, as does his brother and his mom. So why does his dad pop it straight into his mouth? Michael Rosen’s amusing retelling of the tale of his dad and the too-hot potato has become one of his most widely beloved poems, with his own performance of it inspiring a meme: “Nice!” A funny slice of family life, told in delightful repetitive text, Hot Food: Nice! is published for the first time as a picture book with bold, silly illustrations sure to charm readers of all ages.

About the Author

Michael Rosen is a poet and the author of many books for children, including We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, which won the Nestlé Smarties Children’s Book Prize; A Great Big Cuddle, illustrated by Chris Riddell; and Michael Rosen’s Sad Book, illustrated by Quentin Blake. He received the Eleanor Farjeon Award for services to children’s literature in 1997 and served as Children’s Laureate in the UK between 2007 and 2009. Michael Rosen lives in London.

Neal Layton has illustrated more than eighty books for children. His books have won the UK’s prestigious Nestlé Smarties Children’s Book Prize and been short-listed for many other awards. He lives in England.