This book revolves around a 10-year old boy, Michael. When Michael moves into a crumbling, old house with an ancient garage that he cannot resist going into, he encounters a mysterious creature named Skellig. Slowly they come to trust and care for each other and help each other through the most difficult phase of their lives. At first Michael thinks he's imagining the man, but soon the man talks, and Michael can see that he's in a lot of pain. "Arthur Itis" is what the man calls it. Michael puts his own troubles aside to care for the man, feeding him left over Chinese takeaway - #27 and #53, ale and aspirin. The bestselling story about love, loss and hope that launched David Almond as one of the best children's writers of today. Winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award, this unforgettable book now has captivating illustrations by Tom de Freston to celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary. I find this point especially interesting because I am a Christian, a woman of faith, who also loves and appreciates science. The cool thing about Christianity and evolution is that both propose a common ancestor, and both propose a link or commonality between and among all living things. Although that common ancestor may appear different, and that link or commonality is different, it doesn't change the fact that there is common ground if we're open to it. I think Almond is open to it through this book. He reveals deeper truths about faith and evolution, about faith and science, that I didn't fully notice the first time I read this book. Skellig won the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. David Almond is also winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen award.

in Schools Catalogue 2023–24, 1537 in Education Catalogue 2023–24, 537 in UK Primary September 2023 and 305 in UK Primary Autumn 2023 Format If young adult fiction can give you a new experience of an old classic without being condescending and purely educational, that is a good thing indeed!

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This worksheet is a great resource for helping children get a better understanding of the novel Skellig. I have to say if you asked me last week whether I had read Skellig by David Almond I would have looked at you blankly for a bit and then said “Well, I have a feeling I read it in primary school. No, I definitely did. But I can’t really remember what happens in it.”

Don't get me wrong. I liked Skellig plenty. I liked it enough that I've recommended it to Te and Los, and Scoutie has already started reading it, and I blew through it at top speed, wanting to see how things played out. All these topics are covered from a child’s perspective therefore help children consider the feelings that may arise when someone falls ill, or they are moving in to a new house or making new friends.

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Given the state of decay of the garage, Michael and Mina move Skellig to a safer place. In helping him walk, they discover that he actually has wings, although they are dry and folded up. When the children ask Skellig 'what' he actually is, he says: " 'something', combining aspects of human, owl and angel." With the dedicated care of Michael and Mina, Skellig eventually grows stronger and his wings fuller.