Bibliographic Information:
Morpurgo, Michael. Kensuke’s Kingdom. New York: Scholastic Press, 1999. ISBN: 0-439-38202-5. 163 pgs. $16.95.

Category/ Age Level:
Middle Grade Fiction – Ages 8-12 (or Grades 4-6)

Characters:
Michael and his family (mom and dad) buy a yacht to sail around to different continents. During a game of soccer, Michael and Stella (his dog) fall overboard and later wash up on a beach, where they meet an old Japanese man named Kensuke. Kensuke talks about his family (Kimi-wife and Michiya-son).

Plot:
Michael had a perfect life, or so he thought. He enjoyed playing with his best friend Eddie everyday. Michael’s life began to change after Eddie moved away. His days of playing soccer with Eddie were gone. He then found out that his mother and father both lost their jobs. Michael’s dad became very depressed because his son (Michael) was making more money in his paper route then he was being unemployed. Michael’s dad set off to find jobs in the south. A week later, Michael’s dad called and said that his mother and him needed to pack everything and move to Southampton.

Southampton was a new surprise to the whole family. Michael’s dad bought a boat and said that the family was going to sail around the world. The parents trained to sail the yacht and gathered materials from the local school to teach Michael what he would miss in school. Then they were off to South America, Africa, and Australia.

Michael missed his home during the adventure, especially Eddie and soccer. He always played with the ball that Eddie gave him before he left. During the adventure, the yacht weathered a few too many storms. One night, Michael and Stella (the dog) were playing soccer on the deck of the yacht while his parents slept and Stella chased the ball of the boat into the deep blue ocean. What was Michael going to do now? The soccer ball was in reach and Michael tried to fetch it. Only to his dismay, he should’ve worn a safety harness because the yacht took a violent turn with the wind and Michael and Stella flew overboard. Peggy Sue (the name of the yacht) drifted away from them into the horizon.

Earth, sand, trees….where was Michael? In his dream, he was on the Peggy Sue but in reality he had washed up on a stranded island (or he thought it was stranded). After he realized that he didn’t die, he took Stella and they ventured around the island. Michael began to panic when he had no water, no food, and no shelter. Night fell and Michael curled up for his first night of many on the island. Weeks passed, nights and days, and Michael met an older man on the island that lived there since he washed up after the bombing of Nagasaki. Kensuke was a doctor on a navy ship of the Japanese navy when his ship was bombed and sank. The island had been Kensuke’s Kingdom ever since. Michael and Kensuke became friends, which evolved into a father/son relationship. During the war, Kensuke left his son (Michiya) and wife (Kimi) in Nagasaki as he served the country. When Nagasaki was bombed by the atomic bomb, Kensuke assumed that his family was wiped out when they did end up surviving. His family also believed that Kensuke had died. Michael needed a father and Kensuke needed a son.

Kensuke looked after Michael’s every need. He painted with Michael and showed him how to make ink out of octopus oil. They ate, gathered food, and played soccer together. Kensuke warned Michael to not go into the ocean one day because it was dangerous. Michael didn’t believe him and was stung by a dangerous jellyfish. Kensuke nursed Michael back to life. Even though Michael enjoyed his time with Kensuke, he longed for his family and the Peggy Sue. Kensuke didn’t want him to go home if he was rescued because he loved the company. He didn’t want to go back to Japan because he still feared the war. One day when they were gathering food, they noticed a ship. They ran up to the highest point on the island to light the fire. The ship happened to be the Peggy Sue and Michael’s family came for him. Kensuke didn’t go with them but he watched them leave from afar. The island was his home. Kensuke made Michael promise that he wouldn’t tell anyone about him until 10 years later; he didn’t want to be found. When Michael wrote this book, he received a letter from Kensuke’s son thanking him for writing the book and letting him know that his dad was alive.

Related Titles:
Wild Man Island- Will Hobbs
T he Cay- Theodore Taylor

Connections:
Movies: The Beach, Cast Away

Evaluation:
Could life get any worse for Michael? He has so many ups and downs with his parents losing their jobs, his best friend leaving, the buy a boat, sail around the world, and Michael falls overboard. Michael Morpurgo recaps his adventure at sea and on the island to give young adults the sense of adventure and history. The book gives the audience that courage to get over the unexpected hurdles that life may throw at them. He writes the book with imagination for all young adults to live through the adventure. Even though it was a very easy read, it was entertaining and I couldn’t put the book down. I was always wondering if Michael would ever be rescued. This was a great adventure.

Overall Rating:
8 out of 10 (an easy read)

Reviewed by:
Anne Tritschler, The University of Toledo, atritsc@pop3.utoledo.edu