Running Wild with Michael Morpurgo
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By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 11/4/2009 2:10:00 PM
Former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo talks about his latest book Running Wild, his passion about the world’s natural habitats, and why he’s throwing his weight behind MySchoolBookClub.com.
Your latest book Running Wild is set in a jungle. Did you always want to write a jungle adventure?
I have loved [Rudyard] Kipling’s books since my mother read them to me when I was young. I wasn’t a great reader, but The Jungle Book was one of those rare books I felt I was actually living as I read it. So in the back of my mind, ever since I began writing books, I have always harbored the idea that one day I might try to write a story about a boy lost in the jungle and living wild, perhaps with an elephant as a companion.
Your book is inspired by a true event. What drew you to this story?
I read about this event that happened during the terrible 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami in Asia that killed hundreds of thousands of people. I learned that elephants and other animals seemed to sense the coming of the Tsunami long before people did, many of them running up into the jungle, to high ground, to save themselves. And I heard the true story of an English boy, on holiday with his family, who was on an elephant ride along the beach when the Tsunami came in, and whose life was saved when the elephant he was riding took fright and ran off into the jungle. It was a story of survival against all odds, a story of hope amidst the horror of a disaster which had such cruel consequences for the victims and their families, and for the countries and the people affected by it.
What kind of research did you do for the book?
I always do a lot of research for my books. I speak to people who have lived in through similar experiences and I read a lot. For Running Wild, I also spent some time at the Durrell Conservation Trust in the Channel Islands and spoke to the head mammal keeper in charge of the orangutans there. I discovered that at the present rate of attrition, orangutans would not survive in the wild for more than five years, destruction of habitat being the main cause of this genocide. I discovered, too, that there is an extraordinary woman who has spent her whole life living in the rain forest, trying to save and then rehabilitate orphan orangutans. I never met the surviving boy but I certainly would like to and hear his story and perhaps share mine with him.
Was it always your plan to have another message in Running Wild—about the world's natural habitats under threat?
It wasn’t what I set out to do to have another message but while I was researching the book, I learned things that I couldn’t ignore—I looked deep into the eyes of an orangutan, and felt a connection I had never felt with any other wild creature—a genuine fellowship. I learned that they share 97 percent of our DNA. I learned that we have decimated their environment, cutting and burning the rain forest, replacing it with palm oil plantations to supply us with oil for our peanut butter, toothpaste, and lipstick. The mothers are killed, so that their babies can be sold off as pets. We are in the process of exterminating them. The more I learned, the more angry I became, and the more I knew I had to write the book.
You’ve said that the best way to get kids reading is to harness their enthusiasm for technology and link it to reading. Is that why you support the Web site MySchoolBookClub.com?
I chose to support this one because I've known the founders for a long, long time and I knew they shared my views on the importance of storytelling and how being a "book" family can really help children in life.
Why does this site work so well?
I suppose simply by being online makes some young people feel more at home with the club than they would be dealing with paper. For a generation increasingly confident with using the Internet, the site offers a great online introduction to the world of books and reading. They can log on to find out about more about individual books or specific series, and at the click of a mouse they can join a favorite author's online fan club or send information to friends.
Is it better than a traditional school book club?
Traditional book clubs perform an important role in getting children to read and helping parents to encourage their children in their reading. Where My School Book Club is different is that it aims to retain a level of real quality in every title chosen, as well as offering a wide variety of books for all reading levels. For example, there are stories carefully selected for children with dyslexia and a choice of fantastic graphic novels aimed at reluctant readers.
Is it a good way to target boys, who are the most reluctant readers?
If boys don't want to read it's notoriously difficult to make them. The best way to get them interested in books and stories is for parents to read to them and share stories with them at every opportunity and try lots of different genres—classic adventure stories, fantasy, and funny stories. Hopefully, they will soon find something that appeals to them and that they will want to read themselves.
How are the books chosen, and are you involved in the decision-making process?
The books are chosen by the very knowledgeable David Teale, who founded and ran the Red House Book Club for over 20 years. My role is to discuss authors and books that I have enjoyed reading, to identify new trends, and to help ensure that the club is going in the right direction.
Cushing Academy, the oldest co-ed boarding school in the U.S., just announced that it’s getting rid of its entire library print collection.
This kind of thing does sadden me a bit because I do believe that there is a connection between the reader and a book that is irreplaceable. I’m not against technology but think that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. One can support the other if used in the right way.
But can technology be blamed for what happened?
It’s really difficult to say whether technology has made things worse. Certainly, money that might have gone into books has probably been redirected to computers, but that doesn’t mean to say that technology is a bad thing. It just exists and we can’t get away from it. For children it is just one of many forms of entertainment that they have—books have to compete with this and are quite capable of competing. But a thriving school library, with a knowledgeable school librarian at the center of it is one of the most valuable things that a school can give its pupils. When I go into schools, it is often those schools that put their library at the center of the school that are thriving—where children love books and stories, because the adults around them love books and stories.
Where does your passion for libraries come from?
Yes, I do have a passion for libraries. I believe that good school libraries, and more importantly, the librarians who work in them and enthuse about books and stories, are vital. We all know that reading can transform people and change lives, and libraries play a vital role, especially for those children who don’t have books at home.
How can we convince others that graphic novels are legitimate forms of reading?
I loved comics as a boy and still do. Comics can be a brilliant way of encouraging reluctant readers to get into the reading habit, and once they feel confident and comfortable with thinking of reading as something enjoyable, they are probably more likely to take the next step and pick up a book.
What are you working on these days?
I am working on a new novel that’s set in Germany during World War II. It’s about a lady who rescues an elephant from the zoo and looks after it in her garden. It’s based on a true story of something that happened in Ireland during the war.
