Kensuke's Kingdom

Michael Morpurgo's excellent adventure story in which Michael becomes a latter-day Robinson Crusoe when he falls from the boat he is sailing on with his parents and washes up on an island with only his dog for company, is perfectly read by Derek Jacobi. The family's exuberant planning of the trip, the thrill of being at sea and Michael's catastrophic fall are recounted with a proper degree of excitement. But, most successful of all, is Derek Jacobi's reading of Kensuke, the old Japanese man who first protects and gradually, once suspicion has subsided, befriends Michael and, in so doing, lays to rest some of his own past ghosts. A story full of insight and mood changes of its own, it scarcely needs the addition of incidental mood music but, fortunately, it is discreet enough not to jar.