Book Review |
| Kensuke's Kingdom |
By Michael Morpurgo |
| This book was
shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book Award and it is easy to see why! Michael
Morpurgo is a very poetic writer and all the books I have by him are very beautiful. The
descriptions are so vivid and complete that he leaves no gaps in the scene. You feel that
if you ever met Michael - the main character of the book - you'd know him straight away.
Not just how he looks, but how he thinks and feels too. The story tells of a 12 year old boy who lives with his parents and his dog - Stella Artois - in a normal family home. One day his dad loses his job and there are no more available where they live so the family decide to follow a dream and use his redundancy money to spend a year sailing around the world. Michael has mixed feelings at first to be leaving his home and friends but he soon realises what a fantastic opportunity it is. The next part of the book is written in the form of a diary or a ship's log. I think this worked very well and allowed us to see what Michael was thinking and feeling. I liked the illustrations very much, it was good to track where the ship was and to see some of the creatures Michael saw. A storm and an unruly Stella cause a disaster and Michael and Stella are lost overboard! Luckily for them, they drift ashore on a strange, isolated island where they are befriended by the island's strange inhabitant - Kensuke. It takes a long time for Michael and Kensuke to come to like each other and to understand each other and even more time for Michael to get used to the island. I won't tell you how the book ends but I will give you some advice, BUY THIS BOOK! Jan 2001 |