It helps to know whether he has always been reluctant to speak. Most babies start making vowel sounds such as 'oo' and 'ah' by five months, consonants such as 'da' 'ma' and 'ba' by eight months ...

The author and poet Michael Rosen introduces and reads some of his best-known poems for children: The space on the page The 'space' is a ‘friend’ to whom Michael Rosen can tell anything. Words ...