Excitingly, this term, we have started our new text, Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. We have enjoyed imagining what it would be like to give up our houses, jobs and school to go on a year long epic sailing voyage around the world. 

We have been considering different ways of opening stories and have written our own alternative openings in different styles. Here are some great examples:

Description

I’m woken up by the family of chirpy birds singing outside my window. The sun is hot and bright and it hurts my eyes but the smell of bacon has me up and running down the stairs is milliseconds. Stellas wet nose sniffs at the letterbox as the postmans weery finger pokes todays post through our letterbox. I pull stella away from the pile of letters and scoop them all up. One in particular sticks out like a sore thumb. My mum and dads names are scribbled roughly across a brown and sad looking envilope. Curious and confused I open it up then gasp. The Brickworks is closing?

Joshua

 

It was a bright and sunny day as Michael stared out of his bedroom window on the second floor of his house. The garden ahead bloomed with colour: white daisies; custard sunflowers; and red roses all shone proudly in the morning sky. The concrete path leading from the front door seemed to glow. Everything with right in the world just the way it was.........and then thunder struck.

Like a snake, sneaking up on its prey, the letter that ruined it all danced its way innocently enough to the house in the hands of the postman. It was as if time had frozen...the Brickworks was closing! Mum and Dad had no jobs anymore.

Aurora

 

Dialogue

Slowly Michael’s mom opened the envelope, she took out the piece of paper that was inside it she didn’t know that one piece of paper was going to change her whole life. Then that was when it hit her. She started crying, tears coming out of her eyes like a waterfall. Michael ran out of the kitchen and saw her mom sitting on the stairs, hands buried in her hands clutching a piece of paper.

“Mum, what’s wrong?” asked Michael as he tried to calm her down, which was hard as she was crying uncontrollably.

“Oh, I am so sorry Michael!” Michael looked at her with a confused face.

“What do you mean that your sorry?” just then Michael’s dad came rushing out of the kitchen.

Zoe

 

As the letter slipped through the door, Stella rushed like a cheetah.

“Michael, grab the letter from Stella before she rips it apart!” shouted his mum from the kitchen table. Michael frantically ran to the door to see Stella sitting with the letter in her mouth.

“Give me that letter Stella!” exclaimed Michael forcing the chewed letter from her mouth. Michael trudged along to the kitchen and placed the once white, wet letter on the wooden table.

“Thank you, now eat your breakfast before it goes stone cold.” suggested Michael’s dad from the stove. Michael sat down getting a delicious whiff of bacon and sausages from his plate. A while later – once they finished eating their brunch- Michael's mum took the soggy letter and started to open it. After reading the letter, his mums eyes had no shine or happiness in them.

“Well, what did it say then?” questioned Michael's dad.

“We...” mumbled his mum.

“Spit it out mum we haven't got all day!” yelled Michael from the garden.

“We have been made redundant...” cried his mum. The house fell silent.

Ruby