The Butterfly Lion: Michael Morpurgo

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However,I did have some issues that I've also had with some other classics I've read. It's that some points,they get really unrealistic,like out of common sense. for example,not greiving at your father's death because you 'didn't know him well enough to love him' and like how the white lion almost instantly recognized his master at once, after all those years . I mean,it could've been his scent,but...not really. How different would life be if your best friend ware a lion? This is just one of the questions explored by Michael Morpurgo in The Butterfly Lion. Told through recollections of a childhood friend, we are plunged into the past to learn about Bertie’s time growing up in South Africa, his transferral to an English boarding school and subsequently his role as a soldier in the First World War. However it is the themes of friendship, loyalty and overcoming the odds that children will identify with most in this wide-ranging tale. Key Stage 1 1. Introducing the text Bertie escapes from his school and meets Millie, and the two become fast friends, flying kites together. He tells Millie all about his life in South Africa, and his white lion cub. When the pair leave school, they continue to write until war breaks out, and a letter arrives from Bertie informing Millie that he has joined the army. This, in and of itself, would be heartbreaking and infuriating. But knowing how much the two cared about one another just made it worse (or better, from a storyteller's point of view).

The Butterfly Lion - Teaching Resources - Michael Morpurgo

Write a diary entry from Bertie’s point of view at different points in the story (e.g. as he grows up with his dad away working and his mum teaching him on their compound, when he first sees the white lion and her cub, when he is allowed to keep the cub when he is told that he will be going to England). Find out about the use of animals in circuses and write a balanced argument showing the arguments for and against this practice. The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo is a classic children's tale suited for use in KS2. Bertie rescues an orphaned white lion cub and they are inseparable until Bertie is sent to boarding school far away in England and the lion is sold to a circus. Bertie swears that one day they will see one another again, but it is the butterfly lion which ensures that their friendship will never be forgotten. Friendship, war and separation are some of the big themes that children can explore while reading Michael Morpurgo's The Butterfly Lion... Try to research the place 'Timbavati', where Bertie was born. What is the environment like there? Who lives there? What is there to do in the local area? How is it similar / different to where you were born?

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David Wood, chair of Action for Children’s Arts, said Morpurgo is “one of our greatest storytellers”. Make a list of the animals named in the book. Can you use a Venn diagram or Carroll diagram to sort them into different groups? LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives.

KS1 Book Topic: The Butterfly Lion | Teach Primary KS1 Book Topic: The Butterfly Lion | Teach Primary

This book is an extremely good book and touching. It tells the story of a boy, who runs away from school and meets an old lady called Milly. She tells him a wonderful story about a boy called Bertie, who finds a white lion cub in Africa. Bertie has to go to boarding school in England and the lion cub is sold to a French circus man.What predictions or connections can you make between the lion in South Africa and the lion that Bertie sees on the hillside in England based on what Natalie said? Well, you've probably never seen a lion live in a house before, but that's what he ends up doing. He even sleeps at the end of Bertie's bed.

The Butterfly Lion - Wikipedia

Eventually, Bertie had to return to England to attend a boarding school, and the lion - not deemed fit to survive in the wild on its own - was sold to a circus. Before he leaves South Africa, Bertie promises, that one day, no matter what it takes, he will find his lion again. Do you think he does? Well... Many years later, a school-boy discovers the answer, when he sees another lion, on the side of a hill in England.

How does this reading comprehension prepare for KS2 SATs?

Write / tell one of the stories that the men might share when they come home from their time away guarding the cattle. A helpful way to introduce children to the human impact of the war would be to use One Boy’s War by Lynn Huggins-Cooper. This picture book tells the story of 16-year-old Sydney’s decision to join-up in 1914 and the effect it has on him and his family. The children could create a scrapbook for Bertie (or Sydney from this story) as they research the War further and learn about recruitment, training and life in the trenches. 5. Roll-up roll-up! If you were going to travel to Timbavati, how would you get there? Can you plot the journey on a map?