Biography Michael Morpurgo is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the war, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write.

Biography

Michael Morpurgo is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the war, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. He left teaching after ten years in order to set up 'Farms for City Children' with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were awarded an MBE for services to youth. He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.

Morpurgo has a gift for magical storytelling, and his books also often tackle social issues. Out of the Ashes (2001), for example, is about the foot and mouth crisis. His most popular books include Why the Whales Came (1985), which was made into a film starring Helen Mirren; King of the Cloud Forests (1988), which won the Cercle D'Or Prix Sorciere (France); and My Friend Walter (1988) and Out of the Ashes (2001), which were both adapted for television. The Wreck of the Zanzibar (1995) won the 1995 Whitbread Children's Book Award.

The Butterfly Lion (1996) draws on the author's own unhappy experiences at boarding school, and is the story of a young boy who rescues an orphaned lion club from the African bush. It won the 1996 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Gold Award). Kensuke's Kingdom (1999) tells the tale of a boy who survives on an island after falling from his parents' yacht and learns how to survive with the help of the mysterious Kensuke. This book won the Children's Book Award in 2000. Private Peaceful (2003) is set during the first world war and telling the story of two brothers, Charlie and Tommo. It won the 2005 Red House Children's Book Award and the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the 2004 Whitbread Children's Book Award.

In 2003 Michael Morpurgo became the third Children's Laureate, a scheme he had originally helped to set up with poet Ted Hughes. The Laureateship rewards a lifetime contribution to children's literature and highlights the importance of the role of children's books. Morpurgo firmly believes that 'literature comes before literacy' and wants all children '... to discover and rediscover the secret pleasure that is reading, and to begin to find their voice in their own writing ...'

He was awarded an OBE in 2006 for services to literature. His latest books are Kaspar (2008) and a play, The Voices of Children (2008) which explores the concept of childhood and how it has changed over the last thousand years.

Bibliography

It Never Rained: Five Stories   Macmillan, 1974

Living Poets   (compiler with Clifford Simmons)   John Murray, 1974

Long Way Home   Macmillan, 1975

Thatcher Jones   Macmillan, 1975

The Story-Teller   (compiler with Graham Barrett)   Ward Lock, 1976

Friend or Foe   Macmillan, 1977

Do All You Dare   Ward Lock, 1978

What Shall We Do with It?   Ward Lock, 1978

All Around the Year   (with Ted Hughes)   John Murray, 1979

Love at First Sight   Ward Lock, 1979

That's How   Ward Lock, 1979

The Day I Took the Bull By the Horn   Ward Lock, 1979

The Ghost-Fish   Ward Lock, 1979

The Marble Crusher and Other Stories   Macmillan, 1980

The Nine Lives of Montezuma   Kaye and Ward, 1980

Miss Wirtle's Revenge   Kaye and Ward, 1981

The White Horse of Zennor: And Other Stories from below the Eagle's Nest   Kaye and Ward, 1982

War Horse   Kaye and Ward, 1982

Twist of Gold   Kaye and Ward, 1983

Little Foxes   Kaye and Ward, 1984

Why the Whales Came   Heinemann, 1985

Words of Songs   (libretto, music by Phyllis Tate)   Oxford University Press, 1985

Tom's Sausage Lion   A&C Black, 1986

Conker   Heinemann, 1987

Jo-Jo, the Melon Monkey   Deutsch, 1987

King of the Cloud Forests   Heinemann, 1988

Mossop's Last Chance   (with Shoo Rayner)   A&C Black, 1988

My Friend Walter   Heinemann, 1988

Albertine, Goose Queen   (with Shoo Rayner)   A&C Black, 1989

Mr. Nobody's Eyes   Heinemann, 1989

Jigger's Day Off   (with Shoo Rayner)   A&C Black, 1990

Waiting for Anya   Heinemann, 1990

And Pigs Might Fly!   (with Shoo Rayner)   A&C Black, 1991

Colly's Barn   Heinemann, 1991

The Sandman and the Turtles   Heinemann, 1991

Martians at Mudpuddle Farm   (with Shoo Rayner)   A&C Black, 1992

The King in the Forest   Simon & Schuster, 1993

The War of Jenkins' Ear   Heinemann, 1993

Arthur, High King of Britain   Pavilion, 1994

Ghostly Haunts   (editor)   Pavilion, 1994

Snakes and Ladders   Heinemann, 1994

The Dancing Bear   Young Lion, 1994

Blodin the Beast   Frances Lincoln, 1995

Muck and Magic: Tales from the Countryside   (editor, foreword by HRH The Princess Royal)   Heinemann, 1995

Mum's the Word   (with Shoo Rayner)   A&C Black, 1995

Stories from Mudpuddle Farm   (with Shoo Rayner)   A&C Black, 1995

The Wreck of the Zanzibar   Heinemann, 1995

Beyond the Rainbow Warrior: A Collection of Stories to Celebrate 25 Years of Greenpeace   (co-editor with Michael Foreman)   Belitha Press, 1996

Robin of Sherwood   Pavilion, 1996

Sam's Duck   Collins, 1996

The Butterfly Lion   Collins, 1996

The Ghost of Grania O'Malley   Heinemann, 1996

Farm Boy   Belitha Press, 1997

Cockadoodle-doo, Mr Sultana!   Scholastic Hippo, 1998

Escape from Shangri-La   Mammoth, 1998

Joan of Arc   Belitha Press, 1998

Red Eyes at Night   Hodder Children's Books, 1998

Wartman   Barrington Stoke, 1998

Animal Stories   (editor)   Kingfisher, 1999

Kensuke's Kingdom   Heinemann Young Books, 1999

The Rainbow Bear   Doubleday, 1999

Wombat Goes Walkabout   Picture Lions, 1999

Billy the Kid   Belitha Press, 2000

Black Queen   Corgi Childrens, 2000

Dear Olly   Collins, 2000

From Hereabout Hill   Mammoth, 2000

The Kingfisher Book of Classic Boy Stories: A Treasury of Favourites from Children's Literature   (editor)   Kingfisher, 2000

The Silver Swan   Doubleday, 2000

Who's a Big Bully Then?   Barrington Stoke, 2000

More Muck and Magic   Egmont, 2001

Out of the Ashes   Macmillan, 2001

Toro! Toro!   Collins, 2001

Because a Fire Was in My Head: 101 Poems to Remember   (editor)   Faber and Faber, 2002

Cool!   Collins, 2002

Mr. Skip   Collins, 2002

The Kingfisher Treasury of Classic Stories   (co-editor with Rosemary Sandberg)   Kingfisher, 2002

The Last Wolf   Doubleday, 2002

The Sleeping Sword   Egmont Books, 2002

Gentle Giant   Picture Lions, 2003

Private Peaceful   Collins, 2003

Cock Crow   (editor with Jane Feaver; illustrated by Quentin Blake)   Egmont, 2004

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight   (illustrated by Michael Foreman)   Walker, 2004

The Orchard Book of Aesop's Fables   (editor; illustrated by Emma Chichester-Clark)   Orchard, 2004

I Believe in Unicorns   (illustrated by Gary Blythe)   Walker, 2005

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips   Collins, 2005

War: Stories of Conflict   (editor)   Macmillan Children's Books, 2005

Albatross   Corgi, 2006

Alone on a Wide Wide Sea   HarperCollins Children's Books, 2006

Beowulf   (illustrated by Michael Foreman)   Walker, 2006

It's a Dog's Life   (illustrated by Judith Allibone)   Egmont, 2006

On Angel Wings   (illustrated by Quentin Blake)   Egmont, 2006

Singing for Mrs. Pettigrew: A Story-maker's Journey   Walker, 2006

The Best Christmas Present in the World   (illustrated by Michael Foreman)   Egmont, 2006

Three for Tea: Tasty Tales for You and Me   (with Jacqueline Wilson and Anne Fine)   Egmont, 2006

Born to Run   HarperCollins Children's Books, 2007

The Mozart Question   Walker, 2007

Alien Invasion   (with Shoo Rayner)   A & C Black, 2008

Animal Tales: Three Stories in One   Egmont, 2008

Canon Fire (New Windmills)   (editor)   Heinemann Educational, 2008

Hansel and Gretel   (illustrated by Emma Chichester-Clark)   Walker, 2008

Kaspar   (illustrated by Michael Foreman)   HarperCollins Children's Books, 2008

Riptide: Volume 2   (contributor)   Dirt Pie Press, 2008

The Birthday Book   (editor with Quentin Blake)   Cape, 2008

The Voices of Children   (play)   Collins Educational, 2008

This Morning I Met a Whale   (illustrated by Christian Birmingham)   Walker, 2008

Wild at Heart: Animal Stories   Kingfisher, 2008

Prizes and awards

1991   Carnegie Medal   (shortlist)   Waiting for Anya

1993   Prix Sorciere (France)   King of the Cloud Forests

1995   Carnegie Medal   (shortlist)   Arthur, High King of Britain

1995   Whitbread Children's Book Award   The Wreck of the Zanzibar

1996   Carnegie Medal   (shortlist)   The Wreck of the Zanzibar

1996   Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Gold Award)   (6-8 years category)   The Butterfly Lion

1999   Prix Sorciere (France)   Wombat Goes Walkabout

2000   Red House Children's Book Award   (Overall Winner)   Kensuke's Kingdom

2001   Prix Sorciere (France)   Kensuke's Kingdom

2002   Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Bronze Award)   (6-8 years category)   The Last Wolf

2002   WH Smith Award for Children's Literature   (shortlist)   Out of the Ashes

2003   Blue Peter Book Award: The Book I Couldn't Put Down   (shortlist)   Cool!

2003   Carnegie Medal   (shortlist)   Private Peaceful

2003   Children's Laureate

2004   Red House Children's Book Award   (Overall Winner)   Private Peaceful

2004   Whitbread Children's Book Award   (shortlist)   Private Peaceful

2005   Blue Peter Book of the Year Award   Private Peaceful

2006   OBE

2008   Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award   (shortlist)

2008   British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year   (shortlist)   Born to Run

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