War Horse
Before the Steven Spielberg film, before the National Theatre production, there was the classic children’s novel…
In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has the seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story.
War Horse was adapted by Steven Spielberg as a major motion picture with Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The National Theatre production opened in 2007 and has enjoyed successful runs in the West End and on Broadway.
A great way of introducing young readers to the realities of WWI. Look out for Morpurgo’s other war books including Friend or Foe, Waiting for Anya, King of the Cloud Forests and An Eagle in the Snow.
War Horse is a story of universal suffering for a universal audience by a writer who ‘has the happy knack of speaking to both child and adult readers’ (The Guardian).
Michael Morpurgo has written more than one hundred books for children and won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Award, the Circle of Gold Award, the Children’s Book Award and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal four times.
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Michael Morpurgo OBE was born in 1943 in St Albans and was educated at Kings Canterbury, Sandhurst and Kings College London. He taught for ten years in both state and private schools and is married with three children and six grandchildren.
His first book was published in 1975 and he has since published over 100 titles. His books have been translated into over twenty languages. Michael’s books have also been adapted for film and the stage, including most recently the National Theatre’s enormously successful production of War Horse.
Together with his wife Clare he founded Farms for City Children, an educational charity, in 1976. The organisation now runs three farms welcoming over 3,000 children a year. In 1999 he was awarded an MBE for services to youth, and in 2006 he was awarded an OBE.
His books have won the Whitbread Award (The Wreck Of Zanzibar), the Smarties Book Prize (The Butterfly Lion), the Children’s Book Award (Kensuke’s Kingdom) and Cercle D’Or Prix Sorciere (King Of The Cloud Forests), the Blue Peter Book Award and the Califonia Young Reader Medal (Private Peaceful), the Independent Booksellers’ Book of the Year Award (Alone On A Wide Wide Sea) and several have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
Michael was Children’s Laureate from 2003-2005.
Praise for Michael Morpurgo: -
“Michael Morpurgo writes brilliantly about war and animals, conveying the big emotions without preaching.” Guardian -
“There are few children’s writers as compelling as Michael Morpurgo.” Daily Express -
“Morpurgo, as always, is subtle and skillful, and incorporates social and moral issues into his writing without being self-righteous or detracting from the quality of the narrative” Elizabeth Reilly, British Council -
“The former children's laureate has the happy knack of speaking to both child and adult readers.” Guardian -
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Praise for the National Theatre Revivialof War Horse: -
“This tour de force is going to be a hit all over again” – 5* The Arts Desk, Rachel Halliburton -
"…all the equine and puppetry magic is there, undimmed in two decades: a national treasure and global theatrical pride.” – 5* Theatre Cat, Libby Purves -
"…does War Horse also still feature some of the most startlingly good stagecraft you will ever see? And are the opening scenes the kind of large-scale puppetry that could make even the most jaded audience drop its collective jaw? Yes, yes and very much yes” - 4* The Sunday Times, Dominic Maxwell -
“Outstanding are Handspring Puppet Company who should re-name their company Handspring Living Creatures. The word puppet is almost derisory to describe these creatures with swishing tails and equine movement.” Theatre Vibe, Lizzie Loveridge -
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