The Butterfly Lion: Michael Morpurgo

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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.

This book, The Butterfly Lion, is such a wonderful story. It's about a boy called Bertie. He lives with his parents, on a remote farm in the wild countryside of South Africa. 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? Could you conduct a survey to find out your friends favourite animals and show the results in different types of table / graph? Some books make you laugh, don't they? And other books make you hold your breath, because you can't believe what's about to happen next. Other books make you feel sad, because, the writer has made you care for the characters so much. Well, I have to tell you, that this book has all of that. I'm never going to forget reading this book.You could conduct a survey to find out your friends favourite animals and show the results in different types of table / graph?

The inspiring magic of a white lion brings friendship and hope to a lonely ten year old. Miserable at his boarding school, Bertie runs away. He is rescued by a kind old lady who tells him of how another Bertie, a little boy from a long time before, saved an orphaned lion cub in Africa. The symbol of the white lion becomes an emblem of hope as well as a link across generations. Michael Morpurgo is skilful in weaving together magical and real stories. ~ Julia Eccleshare 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? and between the lion cub and the hyenas, shouting at them to go away. They didn't. They stood and watched, uncertain for a while, then they began to circle again. Closer. Closer. Identify any unfamiliar words in the story (e.g. veld, haven, sentinels). Can you find out what they mean and write your own definition? Use drama techniques (e.g. conscience corridor) to discuss why Bertie’s family should / shouldn’t sell the lion to the circus owner. Watch this video for some ideas: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. Bertie wanted to run away from his boarding school in Wiltshire to London. On a map can you find Wiltshire? London? 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? For more information about the work of Farms for City Children, please visit www.farmsforcitychildren.org

The old lady says that ‘true stories do not always end just as we would wish them to’. Do you prefer to hear the truth or something made up that keeps you happy?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. 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."