Share the stories. Share the adventure.
Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain’s best-loved story makers, and Michael Morpurgo Month is a great opportunity to introduce children to wonderful stories they haven’t yet read, and to get them talking about these brilliant adventures. As Michael himself says, reading for pleasure is the best route to literacy: “Give them the love of story first, and the rest will follow”.
Throughout the month of February, we are highlighting sixteen books, which are grouped into four themes: Animal Adventures, Times of War, The Natural World and Tales Retold. These will be supported with everything you need to make February a month of story:
- Exclusive video footage of Michael talking about our four themes, and our highlighted books
- Brand-new lesson activities for all sixteen books, with PowerPoint presentations, which can be used as a quick starter or for longer lesson plans
- Free Michael Morpurgo Month kits, including a branded poster and bookmarks
- A competition to WIN a library of Michael Morpurgo books
Michael Morpurgo is one of the world’s most treasured writers for children, with sales of more than 35 million copies. Beginning as a primary school teacher telling stories to his class, he has now written more than 150 books, served as Children’s Laureate and has won many prizes, including . Michael’s books have been adapted into numerous successful plays and films, and his novel War Horse is the basis for the worldwide theatrical phenomenon of the same name. With his wife, Clare, he is also the co-founder of the charity Farms for City Children. In 2018, Michael was knighted for services to literature and charity.
Visit the Michael Morpurgo Month page to view the sixteen titles, in four distinct themes, which are the focus this year.
Our brand-new activities (with PowerPoint presentations) will explore an extract from each book, using Morpurgo’s rich language to help develop children’s comprehension, expand their vocabulary and set writing challenges that explore the features of evocative prose. They are easy to include in your planning, and make great homework activities too.
WIN a whole library of Michael Morpurgo books for your school!
Take part in the Michael Morpurgo Reading Challenge! Through reading Michael Morpurgo texts to your class, we’d like to know which new word (or favourite new word) each participating child has learnt through this activity. We will then be turning this into a giant Michael Morpurgo Word Cloud. Through participating in this, you will be entered into a competition to win a library of Michael Morpurgo books for your school!
All of the new activities, resources and competition information will be held on the Michael Morpurgo Month page and will launch on February 1. Please remember to sign up for Morpurgo Month notifications, and to order your free Michael Morpurgo Month poster and bookmarks.
