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Loading... Skelligby David Almond
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Beautifully written in a way that makes you empathise with the main characters. It's real brilliance is in it's subtlety reporting Skellig's miracles one stage removed. (  )hmmm_tea | Jul 8, 2009 |   I picked this one up on the recommendation of others, but I wasn't really expecting anything from it. It didn't "look" very good, and usually I get a pretty good sense from a book when I'm holding it whether I'll like it or not (I jokingly call it my 'book sixth sense'... okay, now you all think I'm crazy), and this one didn't really seem like my kind of thing... Was I ever wrong. I don't want to get into plot details because I really think this is a book you need to experience for yourself, but let me say this: when you turn the last page of the book, after the last word has been read, make sure you give yourself a few moments. Allow the sense of the book, the words and the sentiments evoked to wash over you. Absorb the truth behind the fantastic. I finished this book in a coffee shop and had brought along an action-oriented chick lit book to read afterward, but I simply couldn't do it - I didn't want to tarnish what I'd just read. Needless to say, I'm very, very glad I gave this one a try. (  )dk_phoenix | Jun 16, 2009 | Michael and his parents, looking forward to a new baby, move to a big house in need of renovations. When the baby is born prematurely and there is the possibility she may die, the family share their anxiety. In this heightened mood Michael finds Skellig, an angel definitely not of the Christmas card variety, in their old rubbish-filled shed. With the help of his new neighbour, Mina, the pair find a more suitable place for Skellig and help him recover his strength. Mina is home-schooled and presents an opposite picture to Michael's school cranbrook | Jun 5, 2009 | David Almond is one of those authors who is called a children's author, but whose writing is really timeless. Not everyone will love Skellig. It is not full of action and adventure. Instead it is more of a mystery around the nature of the curious character living in a shed, called Skellig - and the stresses placed upon a family when a new baby is born with a life threatening heart defect. But this is a beautiful book, written simply, yet with hidden depths. There is a little humour, and lots of keen observations on life, but ultimately a story of friendship, hope and just a little magic. Highly recommended - unless you only like action adventures! ( )sirfurboy | Apr 26, 2009 | A deeply satisfying book about youth, discovery, the mysteries of life and love. Highly, highly recommended. ( )alaskabookworm | Apr 25, 2009 | 0.034 seconds to build listing  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0440416027, Paperback)"I thought he was dead. He was sitting with his legs stretched out and his head tipped back against the wall. He was covered with dust and webs like everything else and his face was thin and pale. Dead bluebottles were scattered on his hair and shoulders. I shined the flashlight on his white face and his black suit."This is Michael's introduction to Skellig, the man-owl-angel who lies motionless behind the tea chests in the abandoned garage in back of the boy's dilapidated new house. As disturbing as this discovery is, it is the least of Michael's worries. The new house is a mess, his parents are distracted, and his brand-new baby sister is seriously ill. Still, he can't get this mysterious creature out of his mind--even as he wonders if he has really seen him at all. What unfolds is a powerful, cosmic, dreamlike tale reminiscent of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. British novelist David Almond works magic as he examines the large issues of death, life, friendship, love, and the breathtaking connections between all things. Amidst the intensity and anxiety of his world, Michael is a normal kid. He goes to school, plays soccer, and has friends with nicknames like Leakey and Coot. It's at home where his life becomes extraordinary, with the help of Skellig and Mina, the quirky, strong-willed girl next door with "the kind of eyes you think can see right through you." Mina and her mother's motto is William Blake's "How can a bird that is born for joy / Sit in a cage and sing?" This question carries us through the book, as we see Michael's baby sister trapped in a hospital incubator; as we see the exquisite, winged Skellig crumpled in the garage; as we meet Mina's precious blackbird chicks and the tawny owls in her secret attic; and as we finally see a braver, bolder Michael spread his wings and fly. Skellig was the Whitbread Award's 1998 Children's Book of the Year, and this haunting novel is sure to resonate with readers young and old. (Ages 10 and older) --Karin Snelson (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:56 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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