Kensuke’s Kingdom: Complete & Unabridged

Morpurgo, Michael

ISBN 10: 0007179405 ISBN 13: 9780007179404

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2003

Synopsis

A desert-island adventure, and a subtle observation of friendship, trust and humanity. Winner of The Children's Book Award. Superbly read by DEREK JACOBI. When Michael is washed up on an island in the Pacific after falling from his parents' yacht, he struggles to survive on his own. He can't find food and he can't find water, and as Michael and his dog curl up to sleep, he knows they cannot last long. But he soon realises there is someone close by, someone who is watching over him and helping him to stay alive. Following a close-run battle between life and death, the mysterious stranger -- Kensuke -- allows Michael into his world and they become friends, teaching and learning from each other, until the day of separation becomes inevitable.

About this title

About the Author:

Loved by children, teachers and parents alike, Michael Morpurgo, the last 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.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-8-This poignant adventure story begins in England in 1988 and ends halfway around the globe in a place that will change the 11-year-old protagonist forever. After losing his job, Michael's father surprises the family by purchasing a yacht in which they will sail around the world. In the first weeks at sea, Michael, his parents, and his dog, Stella, zigzag from England to Australia and across the Coral Sea, where Michael's reverie comes to a frightening end. In the middle of the night, he and Stella are swept overboard in a fierce storm, and he later awakens on an island beach. The island is a hostile jungle full of howling gibbons, voracious mosquitoes, and brutal heat, all of which challenge his ability to survive. Yet when he finds fresh water and food mysteriously laid out for him each morning, he realizes that he is not alone. He soon comes face-to-face with Kensuke, an old Japanese soldier who cautiously protects Michael in spite of the boy's dogged determination to build a bonfire that will signal potential rescuers, defying Kensuke's wish that the outside world never learn of his existence on the island. For nearly a year, the man and boy help each other, moving from an uneasy d‚tente to a deep friendship. What might have been just a gritty tale of survival evolves into a gentle parable about trust, compassion, love, and hope. This well-crafted story has all the thrills and intrigues of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet (Macmillan, 1986) and Theodore Taylor's The Cay (Avon, 1976), and it will resonate with the same audience.
William McLoughlin, Brookside School, Worthington, OH
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0007179405
• ISBN 13: 9780007179404
• Binding: Audio CD