“It seems that 17% of men born since 1970 are step-fathers. Of course it is not new: my father's cousin, nearly 96, stepfathered two, while his wife stepmothered one. My own father, 85, has stepfathered three and I, at 58, have stepfathered two. What is new is that stepfathering is climbing fast.”

English children's author, poet and academic

Michael Rosen is an English children's author, poet, presenter, political columnist, broadcaster, activist, and academic. He is professor of children's literature in the Department of Educational Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has written more than 200 books for children and adults. Among his best-known titles are We're Going on a Bear Hunt and Sad Book. He served as Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009 and won the 2023 PEN Pinter Prize from English PEN for a body of work praised as fearless.