Q: How did you begin writing books for young people? Did you always want to be a writer?
A: Not at all. I wanted to be a rugby player–my dream was to play for England. When I left school I joined the army and then was a teacher. As a teacher, I had to read the children a story every day, and my lot were bored by the book I was reading. I decided I had to do something and told them the kind of story I used to tell my kids–it was like a soap opera, and they focused on it. I could see there was magic in it for them and realized there was magic in it for me.
Q: What was it like being the Children’s Laureate, what did you have to do?
A: I was lucky enough to be Children’s Laureate from 2003 to 2005. It was an unforgettable experience. I travelled all over the country meeting people and talking to them and telling my stories. It was great to hear their stories too. One of the most valuable roles of the job of Children’s Laureate was the ability to be in a position to say something about the importance of books and the love of stories. To be in a position where I could talk about these things and people would listen.
Q: How many books have you written?
A: Over one hundred. Private Peaceful was the hundredth. Sounds like a lot but that’s fat ones, thin ones. All sorts.
Q: Where do you write?
A: On my bed where I’m most comfortable. I pile the pillows up behind me, settle back, and write by hand with my exercise book on my knees.
Q: Are the stories true?
A: With each one there is an element of truth. I weave different truths into the same story to make another kind of truth. So with Kensuke’s Kingdom, there was a Japanese soldier who decided to stay behind on an island after World War II, and people do hunt orangutans, kill the parents, and kidnap their young; and people do sail around the world on yachts, and sometimes they fall overboard….
Q: Are your characters usually based on people you know?
A: They aren’t usually people I know as such, but perhaps a combination of different people and ideas.
Q: What was your first book?
A: Shan’t tell you, because it wasn’t much good.
Q: What is the favorite book that you have written?
A: The Butterfly Lion or Kensuke’s Kingdom or War Horse or Private Peaceful.
Q: How do you know when one of your ideas is good enough for a book?
A: I get a strange sensation when I know I have hit on a good idea. It’s a kind of tingling feeling all over. I often spend months weaving my story in my head, dreaming it and living it over and over again before it is ready to write down, so knowing that you have found a good idea for a story is a wonderful feeling.
Q: What is it like knowing that millions of people have read your stories?
A: It is a thrill to me to know that people read and hopefully enjoy my stories. I love to see the magic that well-told stories can give people–there is magic in that for me too.
Q: What were your favorite books when you were a child?
A: I wasn’t the greatest reader when I was young and loved being read to, particularly by my mother. But the books I enjoyed reading most were adventure stories–Treasure Island was a favorite as was The Jungle Book and The Elephant’s Child by Rudyard Kipling.
Q: Who are your favorite authors?
A: There are many of them. I loved the writing and storytelling of Robert Louis Stevenson, and Ted Hughes’ poetry is in a class of its own.
Q: Why do you often write about animals in your books?
A: I think it may have something to do with the fact that animals are a good way into a story, especially for children. Animals don’t judge like adults, they are accepting and will just listen. I have always been fascinated by the relationship of people and children with animals. I was a farmer for many years working on real working farms with the charity that my wife and I used to run–Farms For City Children. My respect and love of animals grew from that.
Q: How long does it take to write a book?
A: It depends on how well I’m writing, how well it’s flowing. But I usually spend several months dreaming it up in my head–I call it my “dreamtime,” the most important part of my story inventing when I try to weave the story together, do my research, and find the right voice for the story. Once I begin writing, I write very fast and will finish a book in two or three months. Then revising it might take another month. So, on average, a novel takes upwards of six months to write.
Q: How do you choose your illustrators?
A: By getting to know them. I’ve worked for many years now with Michael Foreman. Indeed, he’s suggested many stories to me, including Farm Boy, Billy the Kid, and Arthur, High King of Britain. We really do spark off each other. I’ve worked very well, too, with Quentin Blake, Christian Birmingham, Tony Ross, Shoo Rayner, and many others. The publishers sometimes help in choosing who should illustrate what. They know many more illustrators than I do and can visualize a book better than me. But I know what I like.
Q: How old are you? Have you got any children? Do you have any pets?
A: I’m very young. I’m 64 years young. I have a wife called Clare, three children, and six grandchildren. Sadly our old dog Bercelet died last year so all we have are four bantams, three hens, and a cockerel called George who loves to scratch up the flowers in the garden.
Q: What tips would you give to young writers?
A: The main thing is to keep your ears and eyes open all the time. To find out more about the world and have an inquisitive mind and heart.
Copyright © 2005 by Michael Morpurgo.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920, by arrangement with Collins, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd, London.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Morpurgo, Michael. The amazing story of Adolphus Tips / by Michael Morpurgo. — 1st American ed. p. cm. Summary: When Boowie reads the diary that his grandmother sends him, he learns of her childhood in World War II England when American and British soldiers practiced for D day’s invasion in the area of her home, and about her beloved cat, Adolphus Tips, and the cat’s namesake. ISBN 0-439-79661-X 1. World War, 1939–1945 — England — Juvenile fiction. [1. World War, 1939–1945 — England — Fiction. 2. Cats — Fiction. 3. Grandmothers — Fiction. 4. Friendship — Fiction. 5. Diaries — Fiction.] I. Title. PZ7.M82712Ama 2006 [Fic]—dc22 2005049038
First American edition, April 2006
COVER PHOTOGRAPHS: (CAT) © CORBIS; (BACKGROUND) © THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM, EA 21843.
e-ISBN 978-0-545-74605-2
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The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips Page 9
