Michael morpurgo biography childhood apraxial

Born in 1943 Michael Morpurgo describes himself as 'oldish'. Married to Clare, father to three children and grandfather to six he has written over 100 titles for children over the course of his career.

After studying English and French at London University he took a job teaching primary school children and realised that the books on offer to them were sadly lacking in any real spark so he began to make up his own; something the children enjoyed so much so that this was what he decided he really wanted to do.

Morpurgo is noted for his "magical storytelling", for recurring themes such as the triumph of an outsider, survival, and characters' relationships with nature, and for vivid settings such as the Cornish coast or World War I.

His most popular books include Why the Whales Came (1985), which was made into a film starring Helen Mirren; King of the Cloud Forests (1988), which won the Cercle D'Or Prix Sorciere (France); and