Michael MORPURGO( born the 5th of October 1943)

One of the most famous writers for young public

- The life skills - A catalyst - The surrounding - The empathy - The topic - Bound- The childhood - The wisdom - A shire - Wales-a life-enhancing experience- I have always harbored the idea that…

Vocabulary

WHAT WAS MICHAEL MORPURGO’S FIRST JOB ?

WHO ADAPTED WAR HORSE FOR THE CINEMA ?

WHAT IS THE TITLE OF HIS LAST BOOK ?

WHERE ARE HIS FARMS IN ENGLAND ?

WHAT’ S THE NAME OF HIS WIFE’S PARENTS’ PUBLISHING HOUSE ?

WHICH PRIZES DID HE GET IN FRANCE ?

Five questions

His first book : War horse ( 1986 )Dolphin boy , Womba goes walkaboutWarHorseThe amazing story of Adolphus TipsThe white lionLittle foxesIt’s a dog’s life!Kensuke’s kingdomAlone on a wide seaFarm boyRobin of SherwoodPrivate peacefulKasparAnyaToro! Toro!His last book : Running child (2010)…Till now, he has written 127 books!

His bibliography

His childhood

His job as a teacher

His wife’s parents have a famous publishing house

A catalyst : un catalyseur The surrounding : l’entourage The childhood : l’enfance

The catalysts of his writer ‘s vocation

Animals: Silver Swan; Wonbat’s wisdom; Aesop’s Fables; The nine lives of Montezumat cat …

Nature: Kensuke’s Kingdom; Alone on a wide, wide sea …

History: War Horse; Toro! Toro!; Anya; Joan of Arc…

Geography: Escape from Shangri-La; Running child

The topic: le sujet

His favorite topics

- In Devon( 1976)- In Wales- In Gloucestershire

3000 children/year Children , to grow in physical, intellectual and affective ways (the three are bound), need to spend time in the nature.It’s a kind of Rousseau’s philosophy. It should be an unforgettable experience for children living in cities.What Morpurgo sees and lives in his farms takes place in his books.The life skills are the main theme of all his books. -

Wales: le Pays de Galle A life enhancing experience: une expérience de vie enrichissante A shire: un comté The life skills : l’apprentissage de la vie To bind I bound bound: lier

Farms for city children

• Generous • Sensitive • Inquisitive • Out-going• Wise Wise: sage , the wisdom: la sagesse

A few adjectives to define his character

Are your stories true ?They begin on a true event and then I invent ; they have all a basis of reality.Where do you get your ideas ?I listen to the others, I look around me, I share work with the children in the city farms, I travel…and I have a great capacity of empathy.Where do you write ?I write on my bed because it’s comfortable; I don’t use a computer. In my garden, I have a tea-house with a bed where I write too.Among your books which one is your favorite ?My favourite book is Running Wild: I have loved « The jungle book » from Kipling and I have always harbored the idea that one day I might write a story about a boy lost in the jungle and living wild.

The empathy : l’empathie I have always harbored the idea that… : j’ai toujours nourri l’idée que…

Some of the questions his young public ask him

The movie adaptation of WarHorse

Produced by

Steven Spielberg

Producted by Spielberg

- Officier of the Order of the British Empire in 2006- Children’s laureate in 2003- The Whitbread children’s book award in 1995

( The wreck of the Zanzibar)- The Children’s book award in 1999 (Kensuke’s

kingdom)- Lire au collège in 2001 (Kensuke’s kingdom)- Prix Sorcière in 2005 (King of the Cloud Forests)

His literary awards and prizes

Five questions WHAT WAS IS FIRST JOB ?He was a teacher.

WHO ADAPTED WAR HORSE FOR THE CINEMA ?Steven SPIELBERG adapted War Horse for the cinema.

WHAT IS THE TITLE OF HIS LAST BOOK ?The title is RUNNING CHILD.

WHERE ARE HIS FARMS IN ENGLAND ?One is in Devon , one is in Wales and one is in Gloucestershire.

WHAT’ S THE NAME OF HIS WIFE’S PARENTS PUBLISHING HOUSE ?His wife’s parents publishing house is PENGUIN BOOKS.

WHICH PRIZES DID HE GET IN FRANCE ?He got the price called LIRE AU COLLEGE and the price called SORCIERE.

• Book: La revue des livres pour enfants n°250, December 2009

• On the Internet:http://www.michaelmorpurgo.orghttp://wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morpurgohttp://guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/11/once-upon-life-michael-morpurgohttp://www.youtube.com/results?

search_query=morpurgo&aq=f

REFERENCES