Skellig

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Summary: Mystical Story with insight into the minds of children.
Review: This lovely story carried me back to the time when imagination and wishes were rewarded with delight in finding that life has solvable mysteries. Happy endings and loving characters go hand in hand to make the story grow and give the reader reason to believe in miracles, and mysteries. A book for adults and children.

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Summary: Magical.
Review: This book was everything I hoped it would be and more. It has a fresh and original storyline, and is beautifully written. I was drawn into the mystery and wonder of who, or what is Skellig. I came away wanting to believe that creatures like Skellig might really exist. This book is destined to be a classic and a must read for all young literature fans. (My 11 year old loved it, too!)

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Summary: An excellent book to get children's imaginations going.
Review: Skellig was a wonderful "read", it drew my 8 year old in (as well as his babysitter and myself) and we couldn't put it down. I was looking for a book to stretch the imagination again of an 8 year old whose brain had seized up on a diet of Pokemon and Goosebumps books and Skellig worked, thank you David Almond. A young boy, discovers a strange creature, Skellig, in an old garage when he moves house. The boys's baby sister is very ill and some how he feels the failing health of Skellig is tied up with that of his sister. He meets Min a home-schooled "free thinker" who helps him to rescue Skellig and to stretch his conventional way of thinking. Lots to think about in this book.

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Summary: An excellent book to read aloud to children.
Review: As the author of a series of (as-yet-to-be-published) childrens/young adults-oriented books, and a father who reads aloud to his child, I found "Skellig" to be an excellent book. Mr. Almond manages very effectively to capture and hold the reader's and listeners' attention. His characters are real and surreal at the same time, having both a "neighborly" and otherworldly quality. The reader is able to witness Skellig's change from scary and curmudgeonly, to loving and caring, (in the eyes of Michael and Mina), and to share in their mutual growth experiences as well. We are all changed for the better by our brief association with Skellig. I found Mr. Almond's choice of language usage and phraseology very effective at conveying the location of the story. His chapters lend themselves well to being read aloud; not too long, and not so short that they seem choppy or do not entice you to read on to the next chapter. I wouldn't mind if Skellig turned up in our garage, someday.

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Summary: How many changes 1 boy can go through in life
Review: I recommend Skellig for 10-14 years old boys and girls. If you like mysteries and like to be left hanging, this is definitely a book to read! I liked this book because of the weird things that happened. There are some things that leave you wondering. At one point in the book the old man says, "27 and 53" and you might think it doesn't have to do with anything, but it appears throughout the whole book. Mike's friend says to him, "What's wrong with you?" That leaves you hanging because by this point you're so into the book, you want to know what happened. Even though it's not one of those really important parts but it's a mystery that the author throws in to keep you wondering. But in the end you finally find the answer to all the mystery's and the problems. That was why I liked this book because at first I was confused but in the end it all came together.

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Summary: a wondrous read for readers of any age
Review: There are often lists of adult books recommended for teens, but here is one book written for young people that would satisfy any reader. I press it on my friends and talk about it with my students.

Is Skellig an angel? A ghost? A boddhisatva? One of the 36 just? Wrestling with these questions is as intense as wrestling with an angel, and as meaningful in the end.



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Summary: Venture into the dark, crumbling garage. Its worth it.
Review: Young Michael has moved into a new fixer-upper house with his family and "stupid" ailing baby sister. Get wrapped up in the discovery he's found in the crumbling garage and let your pallet salivate for 27 and 53, "Food of the Gods."
I can't believe this is juvenile literature! Skellig is a wonderous novel with adventurous, smart, compassionate, and funny characters. The only qualification I can think of for being juvenile literature is that one whole chapter is two or maybe five pages long, that makes for more than a forty chapter book! Brag to your teachers :)
I recommend this good read for anyone older than 6 years old because it can be quite scary.



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Summary: "It's Only My Heart, Mina. Not the Baby's..."
Review: Michael is living in a stage of upheaval and transition in his life: his parents have just moved to a rather derelict house, his unnamed baby sister is drastically ill, and the house is often visited by `Doctor Death', the doctor sent to check up on his sister. On top of this, he now has to bus for school; the previous occupant of the house was dead for a week before anyone found him, and the outside garden is a wilderness. The garage in particular is a nightmare - slumping over, filled with junk and dead creatures, and liable to fall over any second. But Michael decides to have a peek inside, and finds an amazing discovery...

What is the strange creature hidden beneath the cobwebs and the dead flies? Is it a human, a bird or something else entirely? Calling itself Skellig, the strange being seems near death, and Michael longs to help it, feeling that in some strange way its fate is wrapped up with the fate of his baby sister. He befriends the girl living next door, Mina, who does not attend school due to her mother's belief that school stifles children's creativity, and soon the two have plans to move Skellig to the house across the road which is inhabited only by birds.

As his baby sister deteriorates and the family is thrown into worry and turmoil, Skellig begins to make progress, leading Michael once more to the question - what exactly is this strange creature, and can he do something -anything - to help the baby?

It is a rare book that can tell what seems to be such a simple story in such a clear, yet intoxicating way. Told in first-person narrative by Michael, David Almond effortlessly creates the point of view of a young boy in a gritty, realistic world. The language and behaviour in particular is wonderful - you can really see real people speaking and acting in the ways that he describes, and the interaction with Skellig is so natural that you have no trouble believing Michael's words.

On reading it for the second time, I also realised that not a single word is wasted in the telling of this tale - every single one serves a purpose in connecting the ideas and themes that Almond shapes together. From evolution and science to faith and miracles, to blackbirds and owls, to love and friendship - each are closely entwined together to make a complete whole. Such a complex melding of ideas and possibilities told in such an impossibly simple way, a complete lack of sophistication and yet so much depth and meaning is not something you'll find in just any children's book. I say again: not a single word is wasted.

Sad and joyful, poignant and funny, thought provoking and mysterious - the only book that I could possibly compare it to is "The Owl Service" by Alan Garner. The two authors seem to have the same style and techniques - telling the reader only what they need to know and letting them discover the rest for themselves. And what is discovered are endless possibilities for humanity, life - and yes, even death. The winner of both the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and the Carnegie Medal certainly counts for something, and this deceptively slim novel certainly deserves more than one read and a permanent place on the bookshelf.


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Summary: How many changes 1 boy can go through in life
Review: Michael and his family moved to a new house. It was supposed to be for the best. He also has a new baby sister that is very ill and makes his family worry. Michael feels helpless. The new house is a filthy, dusty, and dark place, which once dwelt a sick old man who has recently died. To Michael it is a demolition site or a rubbish dump. HIs parents forbid him to go anywhere in the house until it is cleaned up and safe, but Michael is curious and wants to explore. One day he steps into the dark and mysterious garage of the new house with a flashlight. There are pieces of "blue bottles", rubbish, old chests of drawers, and broken washbasins. The wood and cloth on the seats of chairs are rotting away and bags of cement are lying all around. He explores throughout the garage flashing his flashlight all around. He finds a figure that looks like a man sitting on a chair that is beside a window. He is filthy with blue bottles in his hair and he's pale. Michael is frightened but curious so he speaks to the figure. The figure reveals his name as "Skellig". His voice is squeaky because he hasn't spoke for a few years and Michael finds out he has survived eating bugs and mice. Skellig seems to have Arteritis and has trouble moving. Across the street a girl named Mina lives there. She helps Michael to take care of Skellig. They aren't sure if Skellig is a man, bird, angel, or somthing beyond imagination. They take care of him and in return Skellig helps Michael's baby sister get better. When Skellig gets well he flys away into the sky without a single trace.
This book was great. It was a hand gripping novel which, i couldn't put down. One of my favorite quotes from this book is "27 and 53" from page 19. 27 and 53 is a combination of Skellig's favorite Chinese take-out that Michael usually got for him while taking care of Skellig. Another quote i liked from this book was "He sounded like he was loving it, or he was in pain, or both those things together" from page 29. This was when Michael gave Skellig 27 and 53, which was very descriptive.
I also like this book because it had alot of words that made the pictures form in my head, which made it look real when you imagined it. It was a cliff hanger not only in each chapter, but seemed like a cliff hanger in each of the paragraphs. The characters were interesting and had unique personalities of their own, like Mina. This book was "mysterious" and unpredictable like most books i have read. It had a happy ending and it showed that some problems got solved and some didn't.
My favorite part of this book was when Michael goes in to the garage and discovers that there is a "creature"that hasn't been out in years. It would frightening if that really happened to anyone but the fact that Michael discovered Skellig is what the story is all about. Skellig is mysterious and a character that made a mistake long before, that Michael and Mina help him solve. The descriptions that the author, David Almond brings Skellig into life that you can really see even though this book contained no pictures. Skellig is a great book and David Almond is a brilliant author. I truly enjoyed this book.