Michael Morpurgo is a British author, playwright, and poet best known for his children’s books. He was born in 1943 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and was educated at the King’s School in Canterbury. He has written over 130 books, many of which have been adapted for stage and screen. His works often explore themes of war, peace, and animal welfare. Morpurgo’s most famous works include War Horse, Private Peaceful, and The Butterfly Lion. War Horse was adapted into a successful stage play and later a film directed by Steven Spielberg. Private Peaceful was adapted into a stage play and a film, and The Butterfly Lion was adapted into a stage play. Morpurgo has won numerous awards for his work, including the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award, and the Red House Children’s Book Award. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2006 for his services to literature. He is also a patron of the charity Farms for City Children, which provides educational visits to the countryside for inner-city children.