How the Whale Became and Other Tales of the Early World

Ted Hughes (1930-1998) was born in Yorkshire. His first book, The Hawk in the Rain, was published in 1957 by Faber & Faber and was followed by many volumes of poetry and prose for adults and children. He received the Whitbread Book of the Year for two consecutive years for his last published collections of poetry, Tales from Ovid and Birthday Letters. He was Poet Laureate from 1984, and in 1998 he was appointed to the Order of Merit.

Michael Morpurgo is the author of more than a hundred titles. His books have been translated into over twenty- five languages, and many have been made into films and plays. In 1976 he and his wife Clare set up the charity Farms for City Children, and in the last thirty years over sixty thousand children have come to stay and work on one of the farms run by the charity. From 2003 to 2005 Michael became the third Children's Laureate and travelled all over the world telling stories to anyone who would listen. Since then he has continued to write and published ten new titles, among them Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea, The Amazing Adventures of Adolpus Tips, Beowulf, Born to Run, The Mozart Question and Singing for Mrs Pettigrew. War Horse has been adapted for stage and screen.

Ted Hughes (1930-1998) was born in Yorkshire. His first book, The Hawk in the Rain, was published in 1957 by Faber & Faber and was followed by many volumes of poetry and prose for adults and children. He received the Whitbread Book of the Year for two consecutive years for his last published collections of poetry, Tales from Ovid and Birthday Letters. He was Poet Laureate from 1984, and in 1998 he was appointed to the Order of Merit.