Kensuke’s Kingdom Kensuke’s Kingdom tells the story of Michael, who is shipwrecked on an island, and the unlikely friendship he forms with the island’s existing resident, Kensuke. In this extract, Michael looks down on the island for the first time: “There was a long swathe of brilliant white beach on both sides of the island, and at the far end another hill, the slopes steeper and more thickly wooded, not so high as mine. With the exception of these twin peaks the entire island seem to be covered with forest. So far as I could see there was no sign of any human life. Even then, as I stood there, that first morning, filled with apprehension at the terrifying implications of my dreadful situation, I remember thinking how wonderful it was, a green jewel of an island framed in white, the sea all about it a silken shimmering blue. Strangely, perhaps comforted somehow by the extraordinary beauty of the place, I was not at all downhearted. On the contrary I felt strangely elated. I was alive.”
Storytelling challenge: Can you describe a place so your reader can imagine being there?
You should: • Think of a place to describe. It might be somewhere from real life or from your imagination, such as a place you visit often, a place you’ve seen in a picture or a place you can imagine. • Describe your place to a partner, trying to create the most detailed picture you can.
You might: • Try to use these descriptions as part of your own storytelling or writing, inventing and describing your setting so your reader can picture it as if they were there.
Stuck for ideas? Here are some ideas for things you could include in your description: • Well-chosen noun phrases (a jagged mountain; a rickety shack; a desolate beach). • Specific adjectives (sparkling, tranquil, raging, eerie, majestic). • Metaphor and similes (a dark, inky mouth; flat and still as a mirror). • Alliteration (wild and windy; deep, dark, dangerous).
Kensuke’s Kingdom