Private Peaceful, Michael's moving story set in the First World War, has won the California Young Reader Medal in the Young Adult category for 2007-2008.  Nearly half a million California students participated in the program by casting a vote for their favorite book.

The California Young Reader Medal program encourages recreational reading of popular literature among the young people the state. Since its inception in 1974, millions of California children have nominated, read, and voted for the winners of the California Young Reader Medal. More details here . . .

Aesop's Fables commences 2008 national tour

Michael Morpurgo's retelling of Aesop's Fables has returned to the stage and a 2008 national tour by Scamp Theatre's touring company. This engaging, entertaining and highly imaginative production received rave reviews during 2007 (see below), and this year's tour – from 19th April to 22nd June – comprises 50 performances all around the country. Click here to download the tour programme.

The show opens as the cast—two actors and a musician—arrive on a small platform that floats slowly across the stage to the sound of the accordion. With the aid of lots of props and bits of costume, the trio tells a number of famous fables including The Miller's Son and the Donkey', 'The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg', 'The Traveller and the Bear', The Wind and the Sun' and 'The Hare and the Tortoise', with 'The Wolf and the Shepherd's Son' told in instalments between the others.

This is a brilliantly imaginative piece of theatre, performed superbly by Chris Bianchi and Tom Wainwright with musician and composer Benji Bower. The wonderful music is a constant backdrop to the melodic, rhythmic speech as well as turning into full songs at some points. The sun sings a real crooner's song, and the last time that the boy cries "wolf", he does it in the form of a great jazz song. There is also a song that opens and closes the show that weaves together the morals of all of the tales as its lyric.

There are some magical transformations, such as the paper carrier bag that becomes the goose, and the wheelbarrow that slowly becomes a donkey with the aid of a few vocal sound effects, or even the tortoise, that gradually becomes clear as Wainwright dons a green backpack and round glasses, then unwraps his sandwiches from a handkerchief with an embroidered 'T' in the corner. The whole thing evolves quite slowly without rushing the changes between the stories and not at the frantic pace that many performers feel is necessary for a children's show, but it never for a moment becomes even remotely dull.

Although it is billed as a children's show and there were plenty of children in the audience, this show never talks down to its audience and as a result is a wonderful piece of theatre for children or for adults.

David Chadderton, British Theatre Guide Review

2008 Festivals

Michael will be participating at several festivals this year and we'll be including more details nearer to their respective dates. In the meantime, click here for advanced info on: Edinburgh Festival; Cheltenham's Greenbelt Festival; Bath Festival; Ilkley Festival and Cheltenham Festival.

Motivation first: horse before cart

Michael Morpurgo's article on how to encourage children to read has been published in full in RSL 2008, The Royal Society of Literature Review. Click here for a shortened version, or order a copy with the full article here.

Book of the Year!

Michael's life-affirming novel Alone on a Wide Wide Sea has won the inaugral Independent Booksellers' Book of the Year Award. The award, which is organised by The Booksellers Association, was supported by 187 independent bookshops throughout the country.

On hearing the news, Michael commented: "I cherish my independence with a passion. I cherish it as a writer. I cherish it with bookshops too. So it means a great deal to me to win this award, for I know that those who have chosen it are of an independent mind, and love books with a passion."

Independent bookshop customers were invited to vote for their favourite book of the year from a shortlist of ten children’s and ten adults books, which were voted for by Booksellers Association members from a long list derived from sales data that specifically relates to independent bookshops. Irène Némirovsky’s postumous international bestseller Suite Francaise was the adult category winner.

War Horse at the National Theatre

The National's epic, based on Michael's celebrated novel, War Horse returns in September 2008 following a sell-out run earlier this year. Actors working with magnificent, life-sized puppets by the internationally renowned Handspring Puppet Company led the audience on a gripping journey through history. Click here to see images from the production.

'After the success of His Dark Materials and Coram Boy, the National Theatre has acquired a deserved reputation for its epic family shows. With War Horse, based on the novel by the former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo, it has topped even those magnificent productions.’
Daily Telegraph

The stage adaptation reached number one in The Observer newspaper's top ten theatre performances and it was also awarded the best design prize in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. "Horses whinny, flex, canter and display all the characteristics of the real thing," wrote Theatre Buff's Katie Spain. "Not since Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake have I seen such complete immersion into a species’ mannerisms. Man and machine blend perfectly."

Full details of the production times and booking information from September 2008 will appear here soon.

Honorary MA from University of Worcester

Michael and Clare Morpurgo have received an honorary Masters degree from the University of Worcester for their work in the establishment of the charity Farms for City Children.

At the awards ceremony in early November, University of Worcester Vice Chancellor, Professor David Green, said: "There is no aim more laudable than to give children hope and a wider perspective on the world. Through their work with Farms for City Children, Michael and Clare Morpurgo have offered a generation of young people the opportunity to glimpse a different way of life and experience stimulating challenges that would otherwise not have been available.  We are delighted to honour them and recognise their achievements over the last 30 years."

KIDZONE FINLAND

Michael has launched KIDZONE FINLAND, a fun, interactive website for British school pupils to explore Finland's unique landscape, culture and lifestyle. It provides an accessible vehicle for parents and teachers to support them as they discover another country and learn about a bigger world outside their own. Michael is a patron of the organisation, along with Laura Bush and Eva Luise, the wife of the President of Germany.

At the site launch, a creative writing competition was launched, which Michael judged. The winners, pictured right, were Catherine Bainbridge, Olivia Hargreaves and Russell Timmins.