“For me, the greater part of writing is daydreaming, dreaming the dream of my story until it hatches out – the writing down of it I always find hard. But I love finishing it, then holding the book in my hand and sharing my dream with my readers.”
Press the button to see and hear Michael Morpurgo talking about writing. Why is it important for Morpurgo to write in the first person?Which Michael Morpurgo books have you read?Here are some of Michael Morpurgo's well known stories. Explore the slideshow by clicking play on the first title and read the blurb from the back covers below to find out which familiar themes the author writes about.
Check out the latest book A Medal For Leroy by clicking here. War HorseThis book tells the incredibly moving story of one horse’s experience in the deadly chaos of the First World War. In 1914, Joey, a young farm horse, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front.
Watch the clip below to see how the National Theatre dramatised the story of War Horse. Click on the play button to start.ShadowThis is the story of Aman, as told in his own words – a boy from Afghanistan fleeing the horror of the Afghan war. When a western dog shows up outside the caves where Aman lives with his mother, Aman is initially repulsed – it is not customary for people to keep dogs as pets in his part of the world.
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Kensuke's KingdomWashed up on an island in the Pacific after falling from his parents’ yacht, Michael struggles to survive on his own. With no food, and no water, he curls up to die. When he wakes, there is a plate beside him of fish and fruit, and a bowl of fresh water. He is not alone…
Alone on a Wide Wide SeaWhen orphaned Arthur Hobhouse is shipped to Australia after World War II he loses his sister, his country and everything he knows. The coming years will test him to his limits, as he endures mistreatment, neglect and forced labour in the Australian outback. But Arthur is also saved, again and again, by his love of the sea. And when he meets a nurse whose father owns a boat-building business, all the pieces of his broken life come together.
What place inspired Michael Morpurgo to write Private Peaceful? Click here to find out more about it.
Private Peaceful"They've gone now, and I'm alone at last. I have the whole night ahead of me, and I won't waste a single moment of it...
I want tonight to be long, as long as my life..." Farm BoyJoey was the last working horse on the farm, and the apple of Grandpa’s eye. In War Horse, Joey was sent away from the farm to be a warhorse in WWI. Grandpa had joined the cavalry in order to find, and fight, with Joey. Farm Boy brings us forward fifty years with Grandpa not only telling his grandson, Joey’s story but also a ‘shameful secret’ which he has held for years…
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