We loved reading The Butterfly Lion and writing diary entries from Bertie, the main character's point of view. We wrote in the first person and included fronted adverbials and rhetorical questions. We also made our writing more engaging by adding feelings, emotions and reasons. Here are some examples of our writing. We hope you enjoy reading them.
20th June, 191
Dear Diary,
Today was, if possible, the worst day in the entire lives of my lion and me. Father had just returned home from Johannesburg when he called me down to ‘talk’. It was going to be a lecture. Oh, but so much worse. Father began. He told me I was going to boarding school in….England! Oh no! Now…the ultra bad news! Oh no. Oh no. Oh no! My precious cub will be in a circus, in France!
There was no doubt about it. I will have to set him free. I let him go and with a shot of Father’s rifle, he was gone. Consequently, I was sent to my room. Day after day, Father went looking, but came back empty-handed. Thankfully, he didn’t strap me.
The day the Frenchman came, it was pouring. As luck would have it, my cub came that very day. I was overjoyed but worried because he might have to be in a circus. Le Prince Blanc is the name he got from the circus called Le cirque Merlot. What a name! The Frenchman said he would be well cared for and I don’t know why, but I believed him. My cub would never survive in the wild so that is probably why.
I said goodbye to by cub and Africa. I am now off to boarding school in England. Sigh..I wonder if I’ll go back…
Bertie Andrews
(Ella)
Dear Diary,
Today was a horrendous, ghastly, unfair day! First, I skipped merrily down the stairs with my lion but my parents had to put me in a bad mood. I sat down at the table. Then, they spilled the beans. I was going to boarding school.
If that wasn’t bad enough, my lion is going with a big mean Frenchman that owns a circus. I came up with an idea; I would free my lion, and that’s what I did!
The day the Frenchman came, it was pouring. Unfortunately, that was when the lion walked in and taken away forever. Would I ever see my beloved lion again?
Bertie
(Celeste)
If you haven't read it already, we would highly recommend The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo!
