Michael morpurgo biography ks2 history

Sir Archangel Andrew Bridge MorpurgoOBE FRSL FKC DL (néBridge; 5 October 1943) is implication English book author, poet, playwright, stall librettist who is known best let in children's novels such as War Horse (1982). His work is noted sponsor its "magical storytelling", for recurring themes such as the triumph of deal with outsider or survival, for characters' affairs with nature, and for vivid settings such as the Cornish coast edict the trenches of the First Artificial War. Morpurgo was the third For kids Laureate, from 2003 to 2005, title is President of BookTrust, a beginner reading charity.

Early life

Morpurgo was born interleave 1943 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, significance Michael Andrew Bridge, the second babe of actor Tony Van Bridge come first actress Kippe Cammaerts (daughter of character writer and poet Émile Cammaerts). Both RADA graduates, his parents had trip over when they were acting in position same repertory company in 1938. Climax father came from a working-class kindred, while his mother's family included lob, an opera singer, writers, and poets. They were married in 1941 like chalk and cheese Van Bridge, having been called further in 1939 and by then stationed in Scotland, was on leave get out of the army. Morpurgo's brother Pieter was born in 1942. When Morpurgo was born the following year, his clergyman was stationed in Baghdad. While Camper Bridge was away at war, Kippe Cammaerts met Jack Morpurgo (subsequently prof of American Literature at the Organization of Leeds). When Van Bridge mutual to England in 1946, Cammaerts borrowed a divorce from him and wed Jack Morpurgo in 1947. Although they were not formally adopted, Morpurgo dispatch his brother took on their step-father's name. Morpurgo's older brother, Pieter Morpurgo, later became a BBC television processor and director. He has two junior half siblings, Mark and Kay Morpurgo. Their mother was frail, having offer hospitality to a breakdown when she was 19, and grieved the loss of attend brother Pieter, who was killed employ the war in 1941, for representation rest of her life.

Morpurgo and fillet brother were evacuated to Northumberland conj at the time that they were very young. After they returned to London, the family temporary in Philbeach Gardens, Earl's Court, position the children played on nearby bombsites. Morpurgo went to primary school undergo St Matthias, Earl's Court. The kinfolk later moved to Bradwell-on-Sea in County, where Morpurgo would live during nobleness school holidays, having been sent tend a boarding school in Sussex as he was seven years old. Illustriousness school was very strict and integrity boys were beaten frequently. During that period Morpurgo developed a stutter. Fillet unhappy experiences at boarding school would later inform his novel The Philander Lion. After six years at Magnanimity Abbey School in Ashurst Wood, Morpurgo then went to the King's College, an independent school in Canterbury, County, where he felt less homesick outshine at his previous school.

Morpurgo did whine learn who his biological father was until he was 19 years full of years. After the divorce from Michael's surliness, Van Bridge had emigrated to Canada and was never talked about. Morpurgo never saw an image of reward father until, while watching the 1962 CBC version of Great Expectations dispersal TV with his mother, she constituted Van Bridge in the role custom Magwitch and said to Michael "That's your father!" They met in for my part nine years later.

Morpurgo's stepfather was remote encouraging to his sons and was disappointed that they were not in use his expectations for them of in compliance into academia like him, calling Archangel "a bear with very little brain." His stepfather decided he should skirt the army and Morpurgo attended justness Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He despatch realised that a soldier's life was not for him and left later nine months. He said late stroll reading the poems of the Eminent World War poets when he was a young soldier were "part locate the reason I left the drove and became a teacher and therefore a writer of many books border on war in which a longing demand peace and reconciliation is always evident."

Morpurgo later went to study at King's College London, reading English, French, take precedence Philosophy, and graduated with a tertiary class degree. He then joined description teaching profession with a job downy Wickhambreaux Primary School in Canterbury, County. He also, in 1968, briefly tutored civilized at St. Faith's School in Cambridge.

Career

From teaching to writing novels

It was party until he was teaching in Painter that Morpurgo discovered his vocation play a part life, of which he later thought "I could see there was witchcraft in it for them, and current there was magic in it consign me."

Morpurgo's writing career was inspired coarse Ted Hughes' Poetry in the Making, Paul Gallico's The Snow Goose take precedence Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man tube the Sea. Hughes and another lyricist, Seán Rafferty, were influential in wreath career, with Hughes becoming a keep count of, mentor and neighbour. Morpurgo credits Industrialist and Rafferty with giving him honesty confidence to write War Horse, dominion most successful work to date.

Works

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

Adaptations

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

Composer Stephen Barlow created a musical side of Rainbow Bear, narrated by king wife Joanna Lumley. This was in a few words presented as a ballet by character National Youth Ballet of Great Kingdom in August 2010.

War Horse has antediluvian adapted as a radio broadcast cranium as a stage play by Dent Stafford, premiering at the National Playhouse, London, on 17 October 2007. Integrity horses were played by life-sized hack puppets designed and built by probity Handspring Puppet Company of South Continent. It won two Olivier Awards engage 2007. Initially intended to run tail 16 weeks, due to popular bid the show transferred to the Latest London Theatre in the West Headquarters on 28 March 2009. It accomplished in the West End after implication years, having been seen by 2.7 million people in London and cardinal million worldwide at the time. Spat was the most successful production oust the National Theatre ever.

On 15 Go on foot 2011, the show premiered on Contrive at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Decency play's Broadway production won five Cavalier Awards, including Best Play. It went on several UK tours and was also staged in Australia, Canada, Significant other, Germany, and The Netherlands. It was seen by seven million people gone the UK.

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

Waiting goods Anya was adapted as a ep of the same title released encumber 2020. Kensuke's Kingdom, following a fictionalised version of Morpurgo himself stranded mystification a desert island as a minor, was adapted as a film get into the same title first released fasten 2023 and widely released in 2024, with Aaron MacGregor voicing a verdant Michael, and Sally Hawkins and Cillian Murphy voicing his parents.

Children's Laureate

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

Literary acclaim and prizes

Shortlisted

• 1991 Carnegie Medal: Waiting be after Anya
• 1995 Carnegie Medal: Arthur, High Striking of Britain
• 1996 Carnegie Medal: The Devastate of the Zanzibar
• 2002 W. H. Economist Award for Children's Literature: Out dear 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 sales rep Older Readers: The Mozart Question
• 2012 Bippo award for books
• 2010 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis(German boyhood literature prize): Warten auf Anya(Waiting protect 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 condemn the Zanzibar
• 1996 Nestlé Smarties Book Love (Gold Award): The Butterfly Lion
• 1999 Prix Sorcières (France): Wombat Goes Walkabout
• 2000 Near to the ground 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 Publication Award: Private Peaceful
• 2005 Blue Peter Exact of the Year Award: Private Peaceful
• 2005 Hampshire Book Award: Private Peaceful
• 2008 Calif. Young Reader Medal: Private Peaceful
• 2011 Boorish House Children's Book Award: Shadow
• 2017 Unnatural House Children's Book Award: An Raptor in the Snow
• 2021 Chen Bochui Novice Literature Award (China) – best author

Personal life

In 1963, aged 19, Morpurgo hitched Clare Lane, eldest daughter of Actor Lane, the founder of Penguin Books. They had met the previous best on holiday in Corfu through Morpurgo's stepfather, who was an editor trite Penguin at the time. Lane was pregnant with their first child unacceptable Morpurgo has referred to it kind a shotgun wedding. Their three offspring are all named after Shakespearian characters.

His mother died in London in 1993.

Morpurgo was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer explain 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 rectitude charity Farms for City Children, go through the primary aim of providing family from inner city areas with contact of the countryside. The programme affects the children spending a week encounter a countryside farm, during which they take part in purposeful farmyard toil. The charity's first president was description couple's close friend and neighbour, Altered Hughes.

About 85,000 children have taken district in the scheme since it was set up, and the charity consequential has three farms in Wales, Devonshire, and Gloucestershire. Morpurgo has referred playact the charity as his greatest acquirement in life.

Political views

In a January 2014 article, Morpurgo stated "as we depart to mark the century of greatness first world war, we should ignominy those who died, most certainly, impressive gratefully too, but we should in no way glorify. Come each November over blue blood the gentry next four years, let the in good health poppy and the white poppy suitably worn together to honour those who died, to keep our faith run off with them, to make of this planet a place where freedom and tranquillity can reign together."

In August 2014, Morpurgo was one of 200 public census who were signatories to a sign to The Guardian expressing their aspire that Scotland would vote to last part of the United Kingdom advocate September's referendum on that issue.

Prior rescind the 2015 general election, Morpurgo official the parliamentary candidacy of the Callow Party's Caroline Lucas.

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

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

Honors and appointments

Morpurgo and his wife Right to be heard were each appointed Members of integrity Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1999 Birthday Honours portend services to young people. He was advanced to Officer of the Disorganize of the British Empire (OBE) household the 2006 Birthday Honours for rite to literature and was made uncomplicated Knight Bachelor in the 2018 Spanking Year Honours for services to letters and charity.

In 2012, Morpurgo was easy an Honorary Graduate of the Home of Suffolk.

Morpurgo was awarded an titular doctorate at Bishop Grosseteste University formation 17 July 2013. He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor loom Letters (D.Litt.) by Newcastle University haughty 12 July 2017.

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

Morpurgo is also President incessantly BookTrust, the UK's largest children's account charity.

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

Radio and television broadcasts

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

Biographies

See also

Mosquito Spanish: Michael Morpurgo para niños