Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo (''
né
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth reg ...
'' Bridge; 5 October 1943)
is an English book author, poet, playwright, and
librettist
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...
who is known best for
children's novels
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
such as ''
War Horse
The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot designs ...
'' (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytelling",
for recurring themes such as the triumph of an outsider or survival, for characters' relationships with nature, and for vivid settings such as the
Cornish coast or
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Morpurgo became the third
Children's Laureate
Children's Laureate, now known as the 'Waterstones Children's Laureate' is a prestigious position awarded in the United Kingdom once every two years to a "writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their fie ...
, from 2003 to 2005,
[ and he is also the current President of BookTrust, the UK's largest children's reading charity. ]
Early life
Morpurgo was born in 1943 in St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, as Michael Andrew Bridge, the second child of actor Tony Van Bridge
Valentine Anthony Neil "Tony Van" Bridge CM (28 May 1917 – 20 December 2004) was a British television and theatre actor and director.
Early life
Bridge was born in London and first appeared as a child actor at the age of ten, and enrolle ...
and actress Kippe Cammaerts (born Catherine Noel Kippe Cammaerts, daughter of writer and poet Émile Cammaerts Émile Leon Cammaerts CBE (16 March 1878 in Saint-Gilles, Belgium – 2 November 1953, Radlett, Hertfordshire) was a Belgian playwright, poet (including war poet) and author who wrote primarily in English and French.
Cammaerts translated three b ...
). Both RADA
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
graduates, his parents had met when they were acting in the same repertory company in 1938.[ They were married in 1941 while Van Bridge, having been called up in 1939 and by then stationed in Scotland, was on leave from the army.][ Morpurgo's brother Pieter was born in 1942. When Morpurgo was born the following year, his father was stationed in ]Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
.[ While Van Bridge was away at war, Kippe Cammaerts met Jack Morpurgo (subsequently ]professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
of American Literature at the University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
from 1969 to 1982). When Van Bridge returned to England in 1946, he and Cammaerts obtained a divorce and Cammaerts married Jack Morpurgo the same year. Although they were not formally adopted, Morpurgo and his brother took on their step-father's name.[ later became a ]BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television producer and director. He has two younger siblings, Mark and Kay.