Kensuke's Kingdom

by Michael Morpurgo

Book Overview

A spellbinding tale of survival and self-discovery from award-winning author Michael Morpurgo, who is poised for breakthrough U.S. success.When Michael's father loses his job, he buys a boat and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439591813
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 2.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.5" x 0.5" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Adventurous!

It was so touching that I cried at the end! So heartbreaking yet happy! The boy falling off the ship was a good cliffhanger and super scary! I recommend you to get this book! So good!

Wow!

I'm 44 and do not like reading. I only read a book or two a year, but my sister insisted I look at this one which she had read to my nieces. I was gripped and enthralled from nearly the beginning. What a shame that more adults do not read this kind of literature! What a shame that this book is primarily considered a children's story, when it's clearly for all ages. Of course, it is very simple. Like all things beautiful. Mr. Morpurgo, you have an amazing talent, thank you for sharing it. And unlike the other reviewer, I loved the ending. It was absolutely perfect!

Michael's Amazing Adventure

Kensuke's Kingdom is full of excitement and adventure. Right from the beginning it caught my attention and had it until the last sentence was read. (...) I read this book over one weekend and finished it immediately after school on Monday. If you like adventure books this book is for you. The story is remenescent of Robinson Curusoe, but the English boy in the book is not left to fend for himself. He finds friendship with a Japanse man. They have many adventures together and many hardships. I felt amazed and dazzled when I finished this book. It is one of the best books I have read!

Faboulous!!

hi, my name is sandy jones. i read this book when i was 9 and the only thing that stopped me from reading it, was to sleep. it is a faboulous book for all ages.

Kensukes kingdom - my favourite book

When i was forced to read this book for a quiz i thought that it would be very boring. Boy was i wrong. It is my favourite book, i have read it several times since and it is so good that each time i read it i have to read it all in one night, i can't put it down. When Michaels parents are made redundant, they buy a boat, The Peggy Sue, and sail round the world. When they are in the pacific ocean, Michael and his dog, Stella Artois, fall over board whilst Michaels parents are asleep. They drift onto an island, but they can't find any food. Michael expects that they will die of hunger, until someone on the uninhabited island leaves them food. Who is this kind person? How will Michael get home?

Kensuke`s Kingdom

The book I have chosen to review is"Kensuke's Kingdom" by Michael Morpurgo.. This book is an adventure book, about a boy aged 11 called Michael whose mum and dad sail around the world. In the middle of the journey Michael falls off the "Peggy Sue" (the name of the boat.). He lands on an island but he can't find any signs of Civilization. He begins to get hungry and thirsty and goes to sleep to die. He wakes up and mysteriously there is food and drink .Michael wonders who gave him this food .he lights a fire but an old man comes and puts it out. This man is called Kensuke, Kensuke and Michael don't get along very well. Michael is getting bitten by mosquitos and his way of soothing them was to bathe in the sea. Kensuke came and told him that he could not bathe in the sea. One day his bites hurt him so much that he goes in the sea anyway, he gets stung by a deadly jellyfish . Kensuke rescues him and heals his stings, then Kensuke and Mica (what Kensuke calls Michael) became friends and do everything together. Michael still continues to miss his parents. One day a ship comes Michael thinks it may rescue him but actually it is "The Killer Men" coming to shoot the orang-tang. Kensuke hated these men!. A few days later another ship comes, it was the "Peggy Sue". The main Characters in this book are Kensuke and Michael: Kensuke is an old sailor from Japan .He was the only survivor when his ship was bombed. He found an island and lived there . He did not return to Nagasaki, Japan (home) because he thought his wife and son had been killed in an atomic bomb. Michael is an 11 year old boy who enjoys playing football. Aboard the "Peggy Sue"he is the runner . Stella is a black and white dog ,who is Michael's companion. Michael is the narrator in this book ,.This book is written in English and occasionally there are some Japanese words eg: Abunai (meaning danger).In tis book there is not much dialogue or humour. There is quite a lot of description in this book, most of it is brought over by Kensuke's and Michael's feelings eg: "He cooked over a small fire which smoked continuously at the back of the cave, the smoke rising through a small cleft in the rocks high above-a possible reason, I thought, why there were no mosquitoes to bother me.". This book moves quickly and is divided into 10 chapters. At the end or beginning of a chapter there is an illustration.,the illustrations are done by Michael Foreman. I think you learn from this book what life would be like to be stranded on a tropical island. I think this book is griping ,the book ends a bit int the air and I think to could maybe have a sequel to it. I would recommend this book to people aged 11+, and people who like an adventurous fairytale/ real life book.