The Butterfly Lion: Michael Morpurgo

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While I wouldn't say this is an exciting book is covers a lot of exciting issues and keeps readers with a variety of interest hooked. The Butterfly Lion is a heart warming yet bitter-sweet story. Bertie is a lonely little boy in South Africa who one day adopts an orphaned white lion cub, who then becomes his best friend. Natalie Cassidy named The Butterfly Lion as her favourite book on the BBC Bringing Books to Life feature.

The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo (9780006751038

Roger McGough’s poems based on the Carnival of the Animals will provide a starting point for children’s own writing, whilst in art, works by Chagall, Miro and Seurat referencing the circus will support discussion of style and developing mixed media work. In November 2016 Michael Morpurgo won the J M Barrie Award for his contribution to children’s literature.This award is given every year by Action for Children’s Arts to a “children’s arts practitioner” whose lifetime’s work has delighted children and will stand the test of time. 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?

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? Bertie wanted to run away from his boarding school in Wiltshire to London. On a map can you find Wiltshire? London? 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. Clare Pearson is deputy headteacher at Summerbank Primary School in Stoke. Previously, Clare was the Primary Advisory English Teacher for Stoke-on-Trent. Share your best topic The last suggestion relates to the answer sheet for the questions. The model answer for question 7 suggests using the word 'significant' from the glossary. However, that word isn't used in the glossary for the two star text.

The Butterfly Lion - Teaching Ideas

The Butterfly Lion is not the only one of Michael Morpurgo’s books to feature a cat. Kaspar – Prince of Cats, Tom’s Sausage Lion, Mossop’s Last Chance, Adolphus Tips and The Nine Lives of Montezuma are also about cats. The first paragraph in the Charity section begins 'Ten years later...set-up the charity for City Children'. The paragraph before this ends with Michael writing his first book in 1974, which then implies that the Charity was set up in 1984. However, the Charity was set up in 1976, which was ten years after he had started teaching. It might be better to start that paragraph 'Ten years after he had started teaching...'Michael Morpurgo has thrilled and delighted huge numbers of young readers since becoming a children’s author in the early 1970s," Wood said. "Action for Children’s Arts is delighted to recognise Michael’s outstanding contribution by presenting him with the J M Barrie Award 2016. His work will undoubtedly, like Peter Pan, stand the test of time, making him a truly worthy recipient of this award." 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. The KS2 SATs style reading material covers his early life, his involvement with charities and his many achievements. Make a list of the animals named in the book. What can you find out about them? Can you identify what they eat, their habitats, how they are adapted to live there etc?