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Beloved children’s author Sir Michael Morpurgo has said he refuses to give young people advice when they ask him for help at book signings.
The 82-year-old, known for titles including War Horse, The Butterfly Lion and Kensuke’s Kingdom, said children “often” ask him for guidance but he has come to realise it’s better to decline the request.
“One of the things I’ve learned in my grand old age is not to give advice,” he explained. “Children often ask me at signings, but time and time again, I tell them that they have to find their own way of doing it.”
Speaking to The Telegraph, the author, who worked as a primary school teacher at the start of his career, said the “sadness” in the UK is that children are judged constantly by results.
“We don’t treat our children right,” he said. “We judge them by results constantly. A child growing up needs to know that they have a voice that is valued and that what they say matters, that they matter.”
Morpurgo said that becoming a grandparent and great-grandparent has been a life-changing experience for him. “It’s good to feel that one is going on learning,” he said. “Of course, you’re doing the teaching as well, but my great-grandchildren are teaching me new things, too.”
Morpurgo theorised that young people are teaching older generations to be more open with their emotions and to say “I love you” in “virtually every interaction” they have.
Michael Morpurgo has said he refuses to give children advice at book signings (PA)
“Not necessarily in words,” he explained, “but in the way they behave towards their parents and each other. They’re much more open-hearted than we are. They show what they feel.
“I think nowadays young people are a lot more honest and freed up than we were and we can learn from that,” the author concluded.
Morpurgo was made the third Children’s Laureate in 2003 and held the position until 2005. He is also President of BookTrust, the UK’s largest reading charity.
Statistics show that half of UK adults don’t read regularly. Meanwhile, just one in three children enjoy reading in their free time, the lowest level on record.
“Books give you time to discover yourself and the world around you,” the author said. “Take the reading habit away and we’re in trouble because what are we replacing it with? There’s a risk we get quick satisfaction from screens without having to think about them.”
