QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY HONOUR FOR MICHAEL MORPURGO

Michael Morpurgo attended Buckingham Palace on Wednesday 6th December to receive his award of the OBE in recognition of his services to literature.

"I know that it must have been some of my readers who recommended me for this huge honour," Michael says, "and that's what pleases me most because the books have meant so much to so many children. I've been looking forward, like Alice, to going to the palace for cake and a gong!"

Michael is pictured with much loved and celebrated poet and author Jackie Kay, who received an MBE on the same day.

It's Michael's second visit to the palace during 2006: he was there to read from his works in early-summer, joining 3,000 children who were enjoying a very special garden party.

On Angel Wings

Joanna Lumley and Quentin Blake joined Michael Morpurgo in presenting a unique, sell-out Christmas concert in Mayfair's Grosvenor Chapel on Sunday 10th December.

With music by Coope Boyes and Simpson, Fi Fraser, Jo Freya and Georgina Boyes, the concert was staged in aid of Michael and Clare Morpurgo's charity, Farms for City Children, as well as to raise funds for refurbishment of the chapel.

Michael read from his latest book, On Angel Wings and, together with Quentin Blake, who illustrated the book, signed copies at the end.

Adolphus Tips the balance

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, published by HarperCollins, has won the Sheffield Children's Book Award 2006. The book was up against a very strong shortlist, which is chosen by children from over 100 schools.

Meanwhile, Scholastic awarded a special prize to Daniel, aged nine, for submitting this photograph (right) to its competition which challenged children to send in pictures of themselves reading books during their summer holidays.

Private Peaceful: Michael Dobbs' choice on A Good Read

The author Michael Dobbs discussed Private Peaceful, his choice for BBC Radio 4's A Good Read programme, with historian Antony Beevor and presenter Sue MacGregor on Tuesday 17th October.

He described this moving story, set in the First World War, as "one of those rare books which has managed to bridge that gap between childhood books and adult books. It can be read by anybody . . . It's told with such a very rare, refined sense of pace and beautiful phrasing."

The programme provided a fascinating insight into the historical and contemporary issues surrounding this poignant story.

The Invention of Childhood

During September and October 2006, Michael presented on BBC Radio 4 a unique and ground-breaking history of the experiences of children in Britain over the last thousand years.

The 30-part series accompanies the book launch of The Invention of Childhood by Hugh Cunningham, Emeritus Professor of Social History at the University of Kent. The author and historian shows how the lives of children, and our perceptions of childhood, have changed dramatically through the ages. He looks at what it has meant to be a child at critical stages of British history – in the Middle Ages; during the Reformation and its aftermath; in the eighteenth century; in Victorian times, at the height of the British Empire; during the two World Wars; and in post-war Britain.

"Inevitably, the journey was at times a painful one, and shameful too," says Michael, who has contributed a lengthy foreword to the book. "Poverty, neglect, cruelty and exploitation appear all too often in this story. But what shines throughout is the spirit of the child to survive, to cope, to forgive, and always to reinvent."

CLICK HERE FOR THE INVENTION OF CHILDHOOD WEBSITE

The series has been published on CD by BBC Audiobooks. Click here to order the CD, or here to order the book.

Aldeburgh Poetry Festival

Michael took part in two events at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. On Friday 3rd November he joined the gifted young winners of the Suffolk Young Poets competition to share a selection of favourite poems from his new anthology, Cock Crow. On the following day he talked about some of the poems he first loved – from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to Beowulf, from Coleridge to Kipling.

Private Peaceful – The Concert

On Sunday 5th November Michael joined the outstanding English acappella trio, Coope Boyes & Simpson for a first London performance of "Private Peaceful: The Concert" in the Royal Festival Hall's Purcell Room.

Based on the his award-winning book, the performance combines Michael’s evocative readings with songs written and arranged by Coope Boyes & Simpson. The trio's songs match and intensify Morpurgo's inspired narration as the story of Tommo Peaceful moves between humour and tragedy - from childhood in a Devon village to the trenches of the Western Front in the First War. An innovative and atmospheric production that offers a unique and timely reminder of the human cost of the war to end all wars.

"The words and the songs coexist perfectly, providing a truly engrossing essay on one of histories darkest episodes . . . The trio’s songs strikingly capture the camaraderie and cynicism of ordinary men at war."
Colin Randall, The Daily Telegraph

"Inspiring, Intense, tangibly powerful atmosphere. Incredibly moving."
Ilkley Literature Festival

"The combination of Morpurgo’s passionate story telling with music that was both powerful and poignant produced a memorable performance that was enjoyed by a full house of adults and children alike."
The Morning Star

In the media . . .

. . . Michael joined Night Waves's Philip Dodd, historian Richard Holmes and correspondent Kate Adie to explore the significance of the Battle of the Somme on Friday 30th June on BBC Radio 3. The programme marked the 90th anniversary of this, the most costly land battle in British history.

. . . Michael's interview with Libby Purves on BBC Radio 4's Learning Curves programme. Listen again by clicking here.

. . . Michael's interview with Mariella Frostrup on BBC Radio 4's Open Book programme, where they discussed the recording of Private Peaceful and the cooperative venture he has enjoyed with Coope Boyes and Simpson. To listen again, click here.

Children's Hour

Michael Morpurgo recently gave a reading to a group of children at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Dina Rabinovitch went along for The Guardian. Read her article here.

Christmas on the cards

Kirsty Hill, a 13 year old visually impaired girl from Port Talbot, has won a special National Library for the Blind competition to design a Christmas card for National Book Tokens. Michael Morpurgo (pictured left, speaking at the awards ceremony in May) presented Kirsty with her prize.

The competition asked visually impaired children from across the UK to design a 'Reading at Christmas' National Book Token card. Kirsty's winning artwork will be used on over 100,000 cards later this year.

Library closures brought to book

Michael Morpurgo has strongly criticised Devon County Council's plans to shut 12 libraries across the county. "We are removing an essential service, something that is part of the richness of our lives," he told the Western Morning News (28 January). "The idea that you close something because it is either remote or not popular doesn't wash with me. The young and the old and the less well-off are going to be affected by this. The more well-off can get in their car and drive to Exeter or Plymouth and buy a book but there are a large number of people, young and old, who haven't got transport and haven't got the money. The libraries are there to support the education of the children and the enjoyment of the old and the enrichment of those who can't afford to buy books.

"A lot of people think that being literate and numerate is not enough and we should have them already inculcated with a love of books because with books comes knowledge and imaginative dreams. We need books to be a priority in our society. If they say we are closing X number of libraries, the message comes through that books are not important."

Photo, top left, by kind permission of Jean-Guy Thibodeau.

Gentle Giant at the Royal Opera House

Michael Morpurgo's Gentle Giant was presented as an enchanting new opera by composer Stephen McNeff and librettist Mike Kenny, at the Royal Opera House on the 17th and 18th February 2006. The story was told by a small ensemble of eight singers and instrumentalists in the intimate studio setting of the Clore. It was part of the Royal Opera House's Close-up series that introduced children aged 7+ and their families to opera and dance as an exciting up-close theatrical encounter.

Michael wins Blue Peter Book Award 2005

Private Peaceful, Michael's moving story set in the First World War, has won the coveted Blue Peter Book Award 2005, it was announced on the show on Friday 18th November. The book triumphed in the 'Book I Couldn’t Put Down' category and then went on to win the overall prize, which is judged by a selected panel of children. "I thought it was really gripping," said one of the judges, "and it left me on tenterhooks!"

"To win a prize is always encouraging to a writer," Michael said, interviewed live during the show while signing books at the Business Design Centre. "To win a prize judged by your readers is something very special indeed. I want children to pick up a book I've written and to be locked into it, to be carried away by it. And they clearly have been."

Gillie Russell, publishing director of HarperCollins Children's Fiction, who publish Private Peaceful, commented that this particular award demonstrated how children can even appreciate and enjoy books on such dark subjects as war and death: "This book helps them to understand the impact war has on ordinary lives in a way which they can relate to themselves - it is moving and makes them cry, but ultimately it is a book which is about love, friendship and understanding."

In addition to the Blue Peter Award, Private Peaceful also won the Red House Children’s Book Award 2004 and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children’s Book Award and the Carnegie Medal.

Kensuke's Kingdom raises the standard

Michael's award-winning Kensuke's Kingdom has been republished by Egmont Books printed entirely on 'ancient forest friendly' paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Michael Morpurgo says of this new 'forest friendly' version, "It's one of only a small number of books in the world to have achieved this standard. This means you can be sure that the wood used to make it has come from well managed forests. The people at Egmont are working hard to make sure that all of the paper they use is made of trees that have been harvested without breaking the law and over time they will be printing more and more of their books on FSC paper."

Dolphin Boy launches in paperback
Andersen Press has published this spellbinding Cornish story in paperback. When Jim spots a dolphin beached on the sand, he runs to get help, and everyone works together to return the dolphin to the water. Afterwards, the dolphin stays in the harbour, playing with the swimmers - and he even carries Jim on his back! Then the dolphin disappears, but this is by no means the end of the story . . .
Order this paperback

Walker Books publishes I Believe in Unicorns
A new book by Michael has been published by Walker Books. I Believe in Unicorns is set against the backdrop of war-torn Europe and explores the power of stories to transform our lives.

Eight-year-old Tomas hates school, hates books and hates stories. Forced to visit the library, he stops to listen to magical tales that the Unicorn Lady spins - tales that draw him in, making themselves part of him and changing the course of his life forever, making him believe in unicorns. By the end of this story, you will believe in unicorns too.
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Children's Laureate passes on the laurels
After two years as Children's Laureate, Michael Morpurgo has now reached the end of a tremendously successful national and international tour, telling his stories and sharing his inspiration with tens of thousands of children. He passed over the reins to the new Laureate, award-winning children's writer Jacqueline Wilson, on Thursday 26th May 2005.

"It's been the most intense and productive time of my life," he reflects. "I said when I set out on my Laureate's journey two years ago that I wanted to go far and wide, telling stories wherever I could. I wanted to remind people of all ages of the power of stories, the joy of simply listening and reading, to do what I could to bring literature back to the heart of literacy.

"In that time I've visited 12 countries, talked to tens of thousands of children and parents and teachers and librarians. I've talked in remote island schools in the Hebrides in Scotland, to a dozen children at a time, in city concert halls to a couple of thousand at a time. It's been a literary roller-coaster."