Kensuke’s Kingdom
Written by Michael Morpurgo
Illustrations by Michael Foreman
I got so immersed and blissfully lost in Michael’s tale of survival in Kensuke’s Kingdom, a wonderful book by Michael Morpurgo with amazing illustrations by Michael Foreman. After having read Warhorse by the same author, I was inspired to read another one of Michael Morpurgo’s great works. Morpurgo’s style is so engaging and descriptive that I did not want to put the book down. The story was full of adventure and shrouded in mystery. It was enjoyable and an amazing read.
The book was so heart wrenching and emotional that it touched me very deeply. The bond between Kensuke and Michael, the friendship, the respect between them was beautiful. After reading the book I learned that one must never give up hope, and one should never judge a person beforehand.
Kensuke was a man who came across as a stubborn and difficult person but Michael found out that he was a man true to his word, a kind and gentle soul who had a great sense of humour. The story is set in the year 1988 in Fareham, England where Michael and his family set sail on the ‘Peggy Sue’ on a trip around the world. One stormy night while Michael was steering the ship he noticed his dog, Stella, on the deck above. As he approached Stella and coaxed her to go to bed, a sudden wave swept them overboard. Michael and Stella found themselves stranded on an island in the middle of the Pacific with no food or water. They spent the night in a cave.
When Michael woke up he was surprised to see a plate of fruit and fish in front of him and a bowl of water to drink. Yes, there was another castaway on the island! Kensuke, a former World War II Japanese soldier, lived on the island safeguarding a cluster of Orangutans from the world of poachers. The man and the boy became friends, one having lost his family in the war and the other in search of his.
* This review was written by Alexandra Noreen Wiharja, a nine-year-old who attends Jakarta Montessori School
