The Butterfly Lion

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She enjoyed this book very much and had read parts of it to me explaining the story as we went along.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.Together they discover that Monsieur Merlot's circus has closed down, but that the Frenchman lives nearby with the lion. Morpurgo has never written a lovelier story and the simple drawings of Christian Birmingham, an illustrator i love, really grace the whole thing. The hint at the depression of Bertie's mum is explored through a child's eyes, seeing his mum unhappy, inactive and experiencing mood swings. The story is about a young boy who grows up in Africa and rescues a White lion, they grow up together and one day the bonds are broken when the boy has to go away to boarding school and the lion is sold.

His little white lion went with him everywhere, and at the end of each day they would watch the sun go down together.His relationship with the lion was amazing and unusual, and showed how special a bond between animals and humans can be. The book was adapted into a stage play by Daniel Buckroyd of the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, which toured the UK in 2014.

The contrast of loneliness and companionship, of the horrors of war and the joys of love and friendship are, in my opinion, what make his stories stick. A lyrical and moving tale of a young boy growing up in Africa, and his lifelong friendship with a white lion. Yes, it is for children and it is very basic in its writing style and all those things but the depth of story for such a short piece was fantastic and although it was a little far-fetched (rightly so; it is a children's book after all) I caught myself smiling throughout the hour it took me to complete.

Many years later, Bertie was fighting for England in the Great War in France, when he saw a poster with a white lion on it advertising a nearby circus.

The character of the boy mirrors that of the husband Bertie as they both run way and have to deal with loneliness. Bertie swears that one day they will see one another again, but the butterfly lion ensures that their friendship will never be forgotten. This book is suitable for key stage 2 children as, whilst the language in the book is simple and the story is uncomplicated, I feel that the emotions that Bertie experiences can be better understand by slightly older children. They are inseparable until Bertie is sent to boarding school far away in England and the lion is sold to a circus. Renowned for his compelling storytelling, Michael Morpurgo is an iconic figure in the world of children's literature.I particularly liked the descriptions of the African settings, perhaps because my parents both grew up in Africa. Bertie escapes from his school and meets Millie, and the two become fast friends, flying kites together. Michael is good at using his imagination thats why I like his books but out of all the books he's written The Butterfly lion is the best. Morpurgo does not tend to shy away from life's truths, including sadness, loss and grief; therefore, one always has a sense of apprehension as to what might happen next to the main protagonists. It is a story told in the first person by a young boy who runs away from his school lonely and sad and meets the old lady who relates the story of her husband from long before.