Welcome to our Blog Page: 09/07/11

Authors Who Rock : Michael Morpurgo

From Vital Imaginings and Inspired Daydreams,

Great Stories are Born…

Michael Morpurgo is one of those authors who writes with such clarity and lyrical beauty that his words seem to reach out and pull you in so far, that you can almost feel, taste and smell the world that he his telling you about.

This gifted man grew up in England and started his career off as a Primary School teacher. It was while reading to his pupils everyday, that he began to make up his own stories which the children found far more captivating than the mundane books provided by the school. He quickly realised that storytelling was magical for him and was definitely his true calling.

Today, Michael lives with his devoted wife Claire and a whacky Cockerel called George who just loves to scratch up all the flowers in their garden. Michael is barred writing at home as he loves to write on his bed, propped up by pillows with his notepad on his knees and has stained one too many sheets with ink and sandy footprints. So with Claire’s help, he has built his own storyteller’s hideaway in the country, where he now immerses himself in his story writing.

Michael stokes up inspiration for his stories by keeping his eyes and ears open and his heart fresh. He draws from the children in his life, people and places, history, listening to Mozart and he spends a lot of time daydreaming while he works on his farm.

“For me, the greater part of writing is daydreaming, dreaming the dream of my story until it hatches out. The writing down of it, I always find hard. But I love finishing it, then holding the book in my hand and sharing my dream with my readers,” says Michael.

Michael was chosen as Children’s Laureate (Distinguished Children’s Author) from 2003 until 2006 and has written over 100 books, among which his favourites are Butterfly Lion, War Horse and Private Peaceful. You can get all of these books at www.imagikids.co.za along with a host of other hugely successful books written by this legendry children’s author.