Morpurgo wins book prize

Author awarded accolade for third time...

09:08 14 June 2011

Michael Morpurgo's book Shadow has won this year's Red House children's book award.

It is the third time the Morpurgo has won the prize, which is voted for by young readers, making him the only author to do so in the award's 31-year-history.

He was presented with the prize at a ceremony in Birmingham on 11 June.

Shadow tells the story of a boy who is befriended by an army sniffer dog in Afghanistan.

The 67-year-old author said that the novel was "difficult" to write as it dealt with a contemporary conflict:

"I was conscious of the fact that there are families of soldiers who are fighting now in the war and dying in it.

"So there is a sensitivity that is raw and real. I wrote Shadow, as I do with all my books, because I felt so passionately about the subject - the detention centres and the suffering of war.

"I felt compelled to write it but wasn't sure how it would be received. Winning this award, voted for by so many readers, means such a lot."

Shadow won in both the category for younger readers and the overall prize in at the awards.

Morpurgo's previous wins were for his novels Kensuke's Kingdom and Private Peaceful.