Michael Morpurgo on how his novel about a horse in the First World War gained a spectacular second life on stage and screen

In an episode recorded live in Bristol, Simon and Rachel speak with the children's author Michael Morpurgo. A former primary-school teacher, Michael has written over 150 books, including "Private Peaceful", "Kensuke’s Kingdom" and "The Butterfly Lion". "War Horse", first published in 1982, later became a hugely successful production from the National Theatre and then, in 2011, a film directed by Steven Spielberg. Michael was appointed Children’s Laureate in 2003, a post he previously helped to set up with Ted Hughes in 1999. With his wife Clare, he also set up the charity Farms for City Children in 1976, which offers children and teachers from inner-city primary schools the chance to live and work in the countryside for a week on one of the charity’s three farms in Devon, Gloucestershire and Wales. We spoke to Michael about moving from teaching children to writing for them, the origin of the "War Horse" phenomenon, and his new book, "Funny Thing, Getting Older".