Michael Morpurgo's novels for children have made him one of the most popular and critically acclaimed writers of his generation. He is the winner of the Red House Children's Book Award, the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and The Nestle Smarties Book Prize and has been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. His most recent children's novel, PRIVATE PEACEFUL, about two brothers serving in the First World War, featured on the shortlists of four major literary prizes. In 2003 he became the third Children's Laureate, a position he helped to create with the poet Ted Hughes to bring attention to the importance of writing for children. He set up the charity 'Farms for City Children', and for their pioneering work, he and his wife were awarded the M.B.E. in 1999.