Kensuke’s Kingdom

Chapter 10Killer Men Come

Before you read…Look at the illustration on page 145. What can we predict about this chapter from the image?

New vocabulary…Have you come across any of these words before? Do you know what they mean?

torrents

stoical

indistinct

ecstatic

accomplished

obliterate

inconsolable

stoicalenduring pain or hardship without showing how you feel

torrentsa strong and fast-moving stream of water

saturatedholding as much water as can be absorbed

indistinctnot clear or defined

accomplishedhighly skilled

ecstaticoverwhelmingly happy or joyful

inconsolablevery sad and not able to be comforted

obliteratedestroy completely

Now read Chapter 10

Chapter 10 SummaryMichael and Kensuke deal with very heavy rain.

Michael continues to practise painting and becomes good at it. Kensuke wants to keep his paintings.

Michael looks for chips but doesn’t see any for a long time until finally he sees one coming. Kensuke recognises the ship carries ‘killer men’ (poachers). Kensuke and Michael rush to gather all the apes into a cave, to protect them from the threat. They nearly succeed but cannot find Kikanbo. They hear gunshots. When the ship leaves, they discover that some gibbons have been killed, but Kikanbo had survived.

The next ship they sight is not the poachers', so they light the beacon. The crew on the ship see the fire and sail towards the island. When the boat is closer, Michael sees that it's the Peggy Sue, with his parents on board.

Kensuke decides not to go home with Michael after all because this is his home now.Kensuke asks Michael to keep his presence on the island a secret for ten years, after which Kensuke will probably be dead.

Michael is reunited with his parents. They have been looking for him for a year and they have finally found him!

Chapter 10 QuestionsInfer:1. Why does Kensuke laugh after saying ‘for a rainy day?’?2. How do you think Kensuke feels when Kikanbo doesn’t show up?3. Why are the men on the island?4. How did Michael and Kensuke feel when they found Kikanbo?5. Why does Michael cry

Explain:6. Explain why you think Kensuke was less restless waiting for a boat than Michael.7. Explain why Kensuke doesn’t want Michael to mention the island for ten years.

Retrieve:8. What does Kensuke use the majority of the berries for?9. How did Kensuke get the binoculars back?10. Why was Stella growling?11. How does Kensuke calm the orang-utans?

Summarise12. In fifty words or less, summarise the ending of the story.

Chapter 10 ResponseWhat three promises did Kensuke ask Michael to keep? Write the promises and the reasons for these promises.

Chapter 10 ResponseIn this chapter, Kensuke tells Michael, ‘One day, Micasan, you will be famous painter, like Hokusai, maybe’.

Katsushika Hokusai was a famous Japanese painter.

Click here to learn more about Hokusai and to see some of his art work. Have a go at producing an illustration for this chapter in the style of Hokusai.

Chapter 10Read these words again. Can you remember what each word means?