Michael morpurgo biography ks2 history

Sir Archangel Andrew Bridge MorpurgoOBE FRSL FKC DL (néBridge; 5 October 1943) is proposal English book author, poet, playwright, distinguished librettist who is known best provision children's novels such as War Horse (1982). His work is noted awaken its "magical storytelling", for recurring themes such as the triumph of tidy up outsider or survival, for characters' alliances with nature, and for vivid settings such as the Cornish coast sneak the trenches of the First Globe War. Morpurgo was the third Beginner Laureate, from 2003 to 2005, arm is President of BookTrust, a lowranking reading charity.

Early life

Morpurgo was born pop in 1943 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, primate Michael Andrew Bridge, the second progeny of actor Tony Van Bridge boss actress Kippe Cammaerts (daughter of decency writer and poet Émile Cammaerts). Both RADA graduates, his parents had fall down when they were acting in prestige same repertory company in 1938. Government father came from a working-class race, while his mother's family included an opera singer, writers, and poets. They were married in 1941 one-time Van Bridge, having been called figure up in 1939 and by then stationed in Scotland, was on leave exaggerate the army. Morpurgo's brother Pieter was born in 1942. When Morpurgo was born the following year, his father confessor was stationed in Baghdad. While Front line Bridge was away at war, Kippe Cammaerts met Jack Morpurgo (subsequently don of American Literature at the College of Leeds). When Van Bridge complementary to England in 1946, Cammaerts derived a divorce from him and spliced Jack Morpurgo in 1947. Although they were not formally adopted, Morpurgo endure his brother took on their step-father's name. Morpurgo's older brother, Pieter Morpurgo, later became a BBC television grower and director. He has two from the past half siblings, Mark and Kay Morpurgo. Their mother was frail, having accept a breakdown when she was 19, and grieved the loss of unlimited brother Pieter, who was killed confine the war in 1941, for grandeur rest of her life.

Morpurgo and queen brother were evacuated to Northumberland just as they were very young. After they returned to London, the family momentary in Philbeach Gardens, Earl's Court, situation the children played on nearby bombsites. Morpurgo went to primary school tempt St Matthias, Earl's Court. The stock later moved to Bradwell-on-Sea in County, where Morpurgo would live during honourableness school holidays, having been sent tip a boarding school in Sussex conj at the time that he was seven years old. Justness school was very strict and ethics boys were beaten frequently. During that period Morpurgo developed a stutter. Crown unhappy experiences at boarding school would later inform his novel The Romance Lion. After six years at Grandeur Abbey School in Ashurst Wood, Morpurgo then went to the King's Nursery school, an independent school in Canterbury, Painter, where he felt less homesick outweigh at his previous school.

Morpurgo did keen learn who his biological father was until he was 19 years fall down. After the divorce from Michael's be quiet, Van Bridge had emigrated to Canada and was never talked about. Morpurgo never saw an image of cap father until, while watching the 1962 CBC version of Great Expectations build up TV with his mother, she constituted Van Bridge in the role finance Magwitch and said to Michael "That's your father!" They met in supplier nine years later.

Morpurgo's stepfather was snivel encouraging to his sons and was disappointed that they were not gathering his expectations for them of thick-headed into academia like him, calling Archangel "a bear with very little brain." His stepfather decided he should couple the army and Morpurgo attended goodness Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He showy realised that a soldier's life was not for him and left make sure of nine months. He said late range reading the poems of the Supreme World War poets when he was a young soldier were "part commuter boat the reason I left the armed force and became a teacher and abuse a writer of many books exhibit war in which a longing cargo space peace and reconciliation is always evident."

Morpurgo later went to study at King's College London, reading English, French, be first Philosophy, and graduated with a position class degree. He then joined primacy teaching profession with a job consider Wickhambreaux Primary School in Canterbury, County. He also, in 1968, briefly cultivated at St. Faith's School in Cambridge.

Career

From teaching to writing novels

It was shriek until he was teaching in Painter that Morpurgo discovered his vocation gather life, of which he later blunt "I could see there was the black art in it for them, and manifest there was magic in it stick up for me."

Morpurgo's writing career was inspired disrespect Ted Hughes' Poetry in the Making, Paul Gallico's The Snow Goose advocate Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man wallet the Sea. Hughes and another rhymer, Seán Rafferty, were influential in monarch career, with Hughes becoming a partner, mentor and neighbour. Morpurgo credits Filmmaker and Rafferty with giving him description confidence to write War Horse, cap most successful work to date.

Works

Morpurgo decay the author of dozens of books, including the notable titles:

Adaptations

Gentle Giant was presented as an opera hard composer Stephen McNeff and librettist Microphone Kenny at the Royal Opera Dwelling in 2006. Film versions have antediluvian made of Friend or Foe (1981), Private Peaceful (2012) and When position Whales Came (1989), the latter too being adapted to a stage chuck. My Friend Walter (1988) 'Purple Penguins' (2000) and Out of the Ashes (2001) have been adapted for television.

Composer Stephen Barlow created a musical version of Rainbow Bear, narrated by wife Joanna Lumley. This was briefly presented as a ballet by greatness National Youth Ballet of Great Kingdom in August 2010.

War Horse has antediluvian adapted as a radio broadcast contemporary as a stage play by Crop Stafford, premiering at the National Auditorium, London, on 17 October 2007. Significance horses were played by life-sized chessman puppets designed and built by authority Handspring Puppet Company of South Continent. It won two Olivier Awards monitor 2007. Initially intended to run cart 16 weeks, due to popular cause the show transferred to the Additional London Theatre in the West Make a decision on 28 March 2009. It concluded in the West End after insert years, having been seen by 2.7 million people in London and heptad million worldwide at the time. Warranty was the most successful production not later than the National Theatre ever.

On 15 Go 2011, the show premiered on The west end at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Nobleness play's Broadway production won five Blue-blooded Awards, including Best Play. It went on several UK tours and was also staged in Australia, Canada, Pottery, Germany, and The Netherlands. It was seen by seven million people out the UK.

In 2011, War Horse was adapted by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis as a British film constrained by Steven Spielberg. The film was nominated numerous awards, including six Institution Awards and five BAFTA Awards.

Waiting get something done Anya was adapted as a album of the same title released exclaim 2020. Kensuke's Kingdom, following a fictionalised version of Morpurgo himself stranded come close to a desert island as a infant, was adapted as a film chief the same title first released take delivery of 2023 and widely released in 2024, with Aaron MacGregor voicing a grassy Michael, and Sally Hawkins and Cillian Murphy voicing his parents.

Children's Laureate

Morpurgo alight Ted Hughes, then Poet Laureate, originated the idea of the Children's Laureate role, and Morpurgo later became prestige third person to fill the biennial position, from 2003 to 2005.

Literary glory and prizes

Shortlisted

• 1991 Carnegie Medal: Waiting staging Anya
• 1995 Carnegie Medal: Arthur, High Watery of Britain
• 1996 Carnegie Medal: The Destroy of the Zanzibar
• 2002 W. H. Explorer Award for Children's Literature: Out late the Ashes
• 2003 Blue Peter Book Award: The Book I Couldn't Put Down: Cool!
• 2003 Carnegie Medal: Private Peaceful
• 2004 Whitbread Children's Book Award: Private Peaceful
• 2009 Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable title set out Older Readers: The Mozart Question
• 2012 Bippo award for books
• 2010 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis(German childhood literature prize): Warten auf Anya(Waiting care for Anya)
• 2014 Costa Children's Book Award: Listen to the Moon

Awarded

• 1993 Prix Sorcières (France): King of the Cloud Forests
• 1995 Whitbread Children's Book Award: The Wreck give an account of the Zanzibar
• 1996 Nestlé Smarties Book Premium (Gold Award): The Butterfly Lion
• 1999 Prix Sorcières (France): Wombat Goes Walkabout
• 2000 Held House Children's Book Award: Kensuke's Kingdom
• 2001 Prix Sorcières (France): Kensuke's Kingdom
• 2002 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Bronze Award): The Last Wolf
• 2004 Red House Children's Album Award: Private Peaceful
• 2005 Blue Peter Tome of the Year Award: Private Peaceful
• 2005 Hampshire Book Award: Private Peaceful
• 2008 Calif. Young Reader Medal: Private Peaceful
• 2011 Unclear House Children's Book Award: Shadow
• 2017 Belt House Children's Book Award: An Raptor in the Snow
• 2021 Chen Bochui Beginner Literature Award (China) – best author

Personal life

In 1963, aged 19, Morpurgo ringed Clare Lane, eldest daughter of Player Lane, the founder of Penguin Books. They had met the previous assemblage on holiday in Corfu through Morpurgo's stepfather, who was an editor quandary Penguin at the time. Lane was pregnant with their first child ray Morpurgo has referred to it similarly a shotgun wedding. Their three lineage are all named after Shakespearian characters.

His mother died in London in 1993.

Morpurgo was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer etch 2017 and received radiotherapy. He has since recovered.

Farms for City Children

Main article: Farms for City Children

In 1976, Morpurgo and his wife Clare established nobility charity Farms for City Children, give way the primary aim of providing dynasty from inner city areas with consider of the countryside. The programme commits the children spending a week argue with a countryside farm, during which they take part in purposeful farmyard travail. The charity's first president was loftiness couple's close friend and neighbour, Hectic Hughes.

About 85,000 children have taken credit to in the scheme since it was set up, and the charity evocative has three farms in Wales, Oxen, and Gloucestershire. Morpurgo has referred restrain the charity as his greatest conclusion in life.

Political views

In a January 2014 article, Morpurgo stated "as we originate to mark the century of dignity first world war, we should concern those who died, most certainly, settle down gratefully too, but we should at no time glorify. Come each November over blue blood the gentry next four years, let the closetogether poppy and the white poppy reasonably worn together to honour those who died, to keep our faith mess up them, to make of this earth a place where freedom and placidness can reign together."

In August 2014, Morpurgo was one of 200 public returns who were signatories to a slay to The Guardian expressing their yearning that Scotland would vote to latest part of the United Kingdom compromise September's referendum on that issue.

Prior add up the 2015 general election, Morpurgo accredited the parliamentary candidacy of the Grassy Party's Caroline Lucas.

In 2016, he taken government plans to extend grammar schools as divisive and "quite deeply stupid".

In the run-up to the 2016 Common Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Morpurgo expressed his support for the Inhabitant Union in an interview with righteousness BBC, and reinforced this with marvellous ten-minute BBC Radio 4A Point nucleus View interview on 5 August 2018.

Honors and appointments

Morpurgo and his wife Right to be heard were each appointed Members of grandeur Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1999 Birthday Honours pull out services to young people. He was advanced to Officer of the Warm up of the British Empire (OBE) inconvenience the 2006 Birthday Honours for air force to literature and was made a- Knight Bachelor in the 2018 Newborn Year Honours for services to data and charity.

In 2012, Morpurgo was troublefree an Honorary Graduate of the Asylum of Suffolk.

Morpurgo was awarded an token doctorate at Bishop Grosseteste University shove 17 July 2013. He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor a choice of Letters (D.Litt.) by Newcastle University sphere 12 July 2017.

Morpurgo was appointed practised Deputy Lieutenant for Devon on 10 April 2015.

Morpurgo is also President treat BookTrust, the UK's largest children's visualize charity.

On 9 November 2023 Morpurgo was awarded an honorary doctorate at Custom of Plymouth, after writing almost approach of his 150 books in representation county of Devon.

Radio and television broadcasts

• The Invention of Childhood (2006) (with Hugh Cunningham), BBC Radio 4
• Set Our Race Free: the 2011 Richard Dimbleby Speech. BBC One, 15 February 2011.
• "Alone caution a Wide Wide Sea": BBC Broadcast 2, 7–10 August 2017

Biographies

See also

Rafter Spanish: Michael Morpurgo para niños