Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo has written over 100 books. He is a three-time winner of the Prix Sorcière in France and has twice won the Red House Children's Book Award in England. In addition, has won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Prize, and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal. He has also been named the 2003-2005 Children's Laureate, an award he helped to establish with the late Poet Laureate Ted Hughes to reward a lifetime contribution to children's literature and highlight the importance of the role of children's books. He has had a lifetime of involvement with children, as a teacher, as a father and grandfather and as the founder with his wife of 'Farms for City Children', a charity that enables city kids to come and share his passionate love for the countryside in general and animals in particular.

Kensuke's Kingdom won the Children's Book Award, an award judged by over 20,000 children in England. In 2003, Scholastic Press published it in the United States. Publishers Weekly called it "A prizewinning import: sensitive, perceptive, and well-told."

Morpurgo followed with Private Peaceful, The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, and War Horse. In a starred review, Booklist called Private Peaceful "the terse and beautiful narrative of a young English soldier is as compelling about the world left behind as about the horrific daily details of trench warfare..." It won The Los Angeles Times Book Award for Young Adult Fiction. It was also a choice on BBC Radio's A Good Read program and was turned into a concert piece by an English acappella trio. The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips won the Sheffield Children's Book Award in 2006. Originally published in 1983, War Horse was a runner up for the Whitbread Award
Michael Morpurgo lives in Devon, England with his wife, Clare.