Basher Beaumont terrorises and torments the boy at boarding school. Discuss bullying and how we can help people who are affected. We've also included lovely illustrations to make this reading comprehension engaging for your students. Friendship, war and separation are some of the big themes that children can explore while reading Michael Morpurgo's The Butterfly Lion... 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.

There was impala meat, whenever he wanted it. And as he grew, and he grew fast, he wanted more and more of it. For the first time in his life, Bertie was totally happy." But... it doesn't last. Soon, Bertie is sent away to a school in England, and the lion cub is sold, to a circus in France. Michael Morpurgo appeared on the map for me after I first saw the movie and then read the book War Horse. Eventually, I came across this gem of an edition. Millie uses the phrase ‘Everything comes to he who waits’. What does this mean? Can you find out any more famous phrases? In the second paragraph the text says that Morpurgo was born in 1943. It then goes on to say 'When the Second World War broke out Michael.... was evacuated'. However, the war began in 1939 so Michael's evacuation cannot have been triggered by the start of the war. The KS2 SATs style reading material covers his early life, his involvement with charities and his many achievements.

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."

He threw open the gate, and charged down the hill towards the water hole, yelling and screaming, and waving his arms like a wild thing. Startled at this sudden intrusion, the hyenas turned-tail and ran. But not far. Once within range, Bertie hurled a broadside of pebbles at them, and they ran off again. But again, not far. Then he was at the water hole, The Butterfly Lion transports the reader/listener to two very different continents and several different stages in time. It takes you on a rich journey of adventure,loneliness,loss,sadness,hope,love,friendship,determination and joy. 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.A son and grandson of actors, Michael has acting in his blood and enjoys collaborating and performing live adaptations of his books at festivals, concerts and theatres. As the plot begins to unfold, our young runaway meetsa mysterious, but kindly old lady who (over tea and scones) draws him and the reader into the story of another child, Bertie. We learn he grew up on a remote farm in South Africa living in a closed compound with little company. One day, looking beyond the walls, he is entranced at the sight of a white lion cub and his mother drinking at the waterhole. Featuring a fact file on Michael Morpurgo, students will love finding out fun facts and information about the much-loved children's author. The tale follows the young boy who meets a number of people, the most important of which is an old lady who tells the boy a story of her (and her husbands) life, this is where the lion also comes in to it.

Should animals be used in circuses? Discuss with the person next to you. Write a letter of persuasion 1. if you think they should why or 2. if you think they shouldnt then why? That was when the shot rang out. The hyenas bolted into the long grass and were gone. When Bertie turned around, he saw his mother in her night gown, rifle in hand, running towards him down the hill. He had never seen her run before. Between them, they gathered up the mud-matted cub and brought him home."

Why not involve the children in making ‘afternoon tea’ as served by Millie? As part of this mini project, design and build a cake stand (cardboard versions available online could be used as part of research); write and send invites; make sandwiches and bake scones. You could extend this further by charging people to attend and getting the children to work out the costs involved and therefore how much to charge to break even or make a profit.

This is such a beautiful story. There is such a poetic structure to it. I listened to the Butterfly lion as an audio book and found it very moving. I thought of year five, when I was listening and how it could link into ww2. I felt that it would be particularly beneficial if the children could experience the audiobook version. There are so many benefits from listening to a story in any format, from developing listening skills and quite concentration to fostering imagination and visualization techniques. All of these skills are thought to develop reading comprehension. However, for me, audio versions take this again to another level. Having a skilled narrator telling the story,especially if it's the author themselves,as michael Morpurgo does.Can help a child understand ,punctuation,enunciation and bring out the meaning of the text. It is wonderful to hear from different character perspectives. The language and accents,transport you into the story, also,helping the listener appreciate unfamiliar accents and dialects.Although you may need hard copies for the children to refer to when engaging them in tasks. 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. At the start of the book, the boy is at a boarding school in Wiltshire. Write a diary entry from his point of view, explaining how he feels about being there.A young boy named Michael runs away from a boarding school and meets an old lady living in a big cottage. She tells him about a boy named Bertie who lived in South Africa. As a boy, Bertie had found an orphaned white lion cub, but was eventually forced to send the lion away to the circus and leave South Africa to attend boarding school in Wiltshire, England.