Michael Rosen’s children’s writing has delighted generations – and now a landmark exhibition journeys through his life and career via a selection of original illustrations from his books.

Michael Rosen: The Illustrators opens at The Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner on June 29. It features work by 14 artists across a wide range of mediums including pencil sketches, watercolour artworks, film, digital art and collage.

Spanning Rosen’s whole career from the 1970s to the present day, the exhibition takes in work by renowned long-time collaborators such as Quentin Blake and Tony Ross, plus exciting projects like Claire Mackie’s illustrations for Michael Rosen’s Book of Nonsense and Rosen’s latest books, illustrated by David Melling and Michael Foreman.

Rosen was born in Harrow in 1946 and spent his childhood growing up in Pinner. As well as being one of the UK’s most celebrated children’s writers, he is also a renowned poet, performer, broadcaster and scriptwriter. He is a patron of the Heath Robinson Museum and an advocate for children’s literature, poetry and illustration. This exhibition highlights the integral role illustration plays in his work.

“The child who reads and looks at my books sees it as one whole thing,” he says. “Words and pictures are part of a ‘thing’ but not as separate elements. They combine in fascinating ways, each side of the combination contributing to the other: words informing the pictures, the pictures informing the words.

“One person called it a ‘relay’ as if our minds run to and fro between the two. I agree with that, but it leaves out the fact that our minds combine the two. Our minds are great at synthesising information from different sources. So, for me, illustrations in books where I’ve provided the words are crucial to this. They are a vital element of the synthesis that the child makes out of the book they’re looking at and reading.”

He adds that having worked with so many illustrators over the years, he could not possibly choose his favourite.

“Every illustrator I’ve worked with has brought something different to the table and created a new ‘unity’ that we call the book,” he says. “I’m always fascinated and delighted by what they make, page by page, through the book as a whole.”

Besides illustrations, the exhibition includes examples of Rosen’s poetry and storytelling, and a timeline of his career.

Hannah Whyte, assistant curator at the Heath Robinson Museum, is a lifelong fan of Rosen’s work and was delighted to take on the task of creating this show.

“I’ve enjoyed getting to meet lots of different artists, and hearing the stories about how they brought Michael Rosen’s work to life,” she says. “I can’t wait to share those stories with our audiences. This exhibition is aimed at everyone, but is especially geared towards children, who will discover the wit and wonder of Michael Rosen’s storytelling, as well as the beautiful, whacky and silly illustrations that breathe life into Michael’s words.”

With young visitors in mind, the exhibition includes a reading and learning zone full of books colouring pages and cushions; activities and fun facts in the gallery’s Activity Studio, with a focus on the process of illustrating written works; regular storytelling sessions; and a workshop with Michael Rosen. There will also be accompanying activities in Pinner Memorial Park. Details of the events will be published on the gallery’s website, www.heathrobinsonmuseum.org.

For Michael Rosen, the show is a chance to share important insights into how his published books take shape.

“I hope that people will see that someone like me who works in the world of children’s books as a writer is in reality someone who is part of cooperative, collaborative, creative process,” he says. “When you look at an illustrated book, you are really listening in to a conversation between writer and illustrator. That may be a literal conversation, when we chat to each other, or it may be a metaphorical conversation that goes on in, say, the illustrator’s head, when they interpret the words I’ve written. Their pictures are in essence a ‘reading’ of the words, just as we say an actor does a reading of a speech. What we see is the illustrator’s interpretation. I hope visitors will see how they’ve done this.”

Michael Rosen will be at the opening of the exhibition which runs from 11pm to 4pm on June 29. Michael Rosen: The Illustrators runs from June 29 to September 22.