Kensuke's Kingdom

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Michael Morpurgo has written more than one hundred books for children and won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Award, the Circle of Gold Award, the Children’s Book Award and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal four times.

Kensuke’s Kingdom has strong themes of ecological conservation and respect for the environment, including a climactic showdown with poachers who are trying to overtake the island, and directors Boyle and Hendry have spent time investigating the best approach for visualizing the natural world onscreen. They’ve come up with a solution that balances organic elements with digital compositing, and which is both unique and visually striking. Michael kept his promise to Kensuke. What does a promise mean? Has anyone ever asked you to keep a promise? Added Hendry: “Something that we have been focusing on in the last few years is the creative blend of mixed media. We like to see how the things we love can inhabit the same space — the charm of 2D hand drawn characters, the depth of photoreal worlds, the character of miniature environments, matte paintings and the random nature of filmed effects footage.” The front cover of the early edition has an illustration inspired by the work of Japanese painter Hokusai Katsushika. The painter is mentioned in the story, too. Kensuke's Kingdom is a gripping adventure from the author of War Horse. Michael Morpurgo has written more than one hundred books for children and won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Award, the Circle of Gold Award, the Children’s Book Award and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal four times.UK-based Lupus Films began production on an animated version of Kensuke's Kingdom in 2020. Voice actors for the animated version include Sally Hawkins, Cillian Murphy, and Ken Watanabe. Kensuke, the Japanese soldier who Michael meets on the island, is named after one of Micheal’s fans who he met at a book signing event. It’s pronounced Kensky. Before reading the story, look at the chapter titles. Can you predict what might happen as the story progresses? After some time, Michael and Kensuke start to form a bond but Michael knows he can’t stay on the island forever. After Kensuke realises how much Michael misses his family, he agrees to help him light a fire when they see the next ship. By miracle, the next ship is Michael’s parents who have been looking for him ever since he fell off the boat. Turn the story (or part of it) into a playscript and perform it. Watch this video of a stage version for inspiration:

Kensuke's Kingdom Differentiated Reading Comprehension Activity - This reading comprehension activity is a great way to assess your pupils' understanding of the novel as you go. Differentiated so you can tailor the resource to your pupils' abilities, it features questions for the opening, chapter 5 and chapter 10. Loved by children, teachers and parents alike, Michael Morpurgo, the former Children's Laureate, has written more than forty books and won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Award, the Circle of Gold Award, the Children's Book Award and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal four times. As a child Michael Morpurgo enjoyed reading Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, and although this book is very different to Kensuke’s Kingdom, they do share some common ground. Michael and Kensuke make a range of objects using materials from the island. Could you make your own clothes / equipment / tools using natural materials found on the ground?

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Create your own map of the island, using information in the book (and Michael Morpurgo’s illustrations) to help you (see Resources below). Kensuke's Kingdom is a great book to read in Upper Key Stage 2 and it explores topics such as hope, friendship and survival. Kensuke’s Kingdom is a thrilling adventure story from exceptional children’s writer Michael Morpurgo.

Look at the map of the world, as shown in the book. Can you identify the places Michael travelled to? Can you find out more information about each place? Could you calculate the distance that he travelled?Like Private Peaceful, War Horseand several other of Michael Morpurgo’s novels, Kensuke’s Kingdom has been turned into a play. Michael spots a lot of amazing creatures on his adventure. Can you find out more about one (or more) of them? The producing team behind Kensuke’s Kingdom is now comprised of Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding of Lupus Films, Sarah Radclyffe (co-founder of Working Title Films and producer of over 30 live-action films), Barnaby Spurrier ( Deadtime Stories for Big Folk, Somers Town), and Stephan Roelants of Melusine Productions. Imagine that Michael’s log book had floated ashore on the island. Can you write some more entries in it to describe his time there?