Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo is the award-winning author of more than 100 children's books. Britain's Children's Laureate from 2003-2005, his works include, in addition to War Horse, his most recent, Shadow, which is set in war-torn Afghanistan, The Mozart Question, Born to Run and the award-winning The Wreck of the Zanzibar, The Butterfly Lion, Kensuke's Kingdom, The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tip and Private Peaceful. A former teacher, his many honors include England's Red House Children's Book Award, the Whitbread Children's Novel Award, an OBE for services to literature, a Chevalier desArts et des Lettres by the French Government and, with his wife Clare, anMBE for services to education. In 2005 he was named the Booksellers Author of the Year. He and his wife are the founders of Farm for City Children, a charity that exposes inner-city children to life in the country by hosting them for a week at three working farms in Devon, England. www.michaelmorpurgo.com