Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo (Egmont)

Michael was lost at sea ten years ago. He was only eleven. It would be ten years after his rescue that he would share his story. Such is the premise of Kensuke's Kingdom, winner of the Children’s Book Award and written by Michael Morpurgo. 

Michael’s family consists of him, his mother and father, and his pet sheepdog, Stella Artois, Michael had a paper route on Saturdays. On Sundays, the family would go dinghy sailing at the city’s reservoir. His father worked at the brickworks and his mother worked part-time at the brickworks office until their family received “the letter” which would change their lives. 

“The letter” was a notice to inform them that the brickworks was closing down. Michael’s parents looked for other jobs but there was nothing. The family was falling apart. His parents were not speaking to each other and when they did they would be arguing about little things. 

Then, one Saturday, Michael’s world changes. He finds his mother at home crying because his Father sold the family car and said they would be moving south. Michael had never seen his mother in this state. She said it was because of him that their father had this crazy idea. 

She tells him what his father said to her. “There’s only one lousy wage coming into this house - Michael’s paper money.” Father tells his wife, “How do you think that makes me feel, eh? My son’s eleven years old. He’s got a job and I haven’t!”. 

Father’s big plan was to make his dream into reality. He had enough money to buy a yacht named Peggy Sue. He prepared for everything, even Michael’s education. At first, the sailing goes well as the family visits Brazil, Africa and Australia. It isn’t until they hit a storm in the Coral Sea where Michael and his dog fall overboard. 

Michael and Stella wash up on a deserted island and must use his wits to survive on his own. He has no food and water and believes that his time is up and accepts the fact that he will die. However, when he wakes, he finds a plate of fish and fruit and some drinking water provided. Now he knows he is not alone. 

It doesn’t take long for Michael to discover the only other inhabitant on the island. A man whose language he doesn’t understand and who uses words he’s never heard of - Dameda! Yamero! Abunai! At their first encounter, the only thing Michael learns is that the man’s name is Kensuke. 

One day Michael goes swimming in the ocean only and is stung by a large and poisonous jellyfish. It’s Kensuke that nurses Michael back to health and they begin to form a fragile friendship as Kensuke asks Michael to teach him English. 

Once the two can communicate, Michael learns that Kensuke is Japanese man from Nagasaki.  He learns about Kensuke’s family history. How Kensuke joined the Imperial Navy and believes his wife and only son died in the bombing of Nagasaki and how he’s been stranded on the island since the end of the war but has nothing to go back to in Japan. 

Kensuku’s Kingdom is a story of survival and friendship. It’s about creating new bonds and keeping promises and protecting what one deems important. The story may remind you of Gary Pausen’s Hatchet in which a young boy must survive the wilderness on his own. Michael may not be alone on the island but he learns what is most important in life. It is something we should not take for granted. ~Ernie Hoyt