When asked by a reader what he would do if he were stranded on a desert island, Michael Morpurgo said he would make himself “as comfortable as I could. The front cover of the early edition has an illustration inspired by the work of Japanese painter Hokusai Katsushika. Michael Morpurgo thought he had finished writing Kensuke’s Kingdom, but after reading it again, he decided it need something else.

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. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. 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. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic.They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. Like Private Peaceful, War Horseand several other of Michael Morpurgo’s novels, Kensuke’s Kingdom has been turned into a play. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page. Michael got the name for the main character’s dog, Stellas Artois, from a boy who came to stay on his farm in Devon.

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