Are there similarities between life in The Gambia and that in Scotland? Are there differences? How are the attitudes of adults to Jeneba different from those to Iona? Then there was the sad moment in the book, I was heart broken when I read that Ioana had simply died, in one way it was predictable, but at the same time I did not expect it. I have mixed feelings on how the book dealt with it, from a child's point of view it felt like a good explanation of what happened. However for older readers it felt almost glossed over, it happened and then it was forgotten. An edge-of-your-seat wildlife adventure that tells a very human story of friendship, discovery and an incredible journey. I loved it! My thanks to the good people at OUP for sending the book. And note that it's called Wild Wings in the United States! We also have a review od Sky Dancer by Gill Lewis.

This beautifully written, captivating book should be on everyone's bookcase. Breathtaking. Poignant. Unforgettable. The Strawberry Post https://thestrawberrypost.wordpress.com/2021/01/22/book-review-swan-song-by-gill-lewis/

Reviews

I loved Sky Hawk-it's a tremendously assured debut novel and it reminded me very much of the books Michael Morpurgo writes. I can see teachers wanting to share this one with their classes because its themes are simultaneously diverse and universal, but I also think it's a book for all ages to savour at home. Highly recommended. The truth that the internet can forge long distance friendships that are real (some people argue/ worry that time spent on the internet deprives children of "real" friendships) A thrilling and heart-warming novel by award-winning author Gill Lewis, celebrating the unique bond between humans and animals and the power of unconditional love.

In dealing with his grief, Callum has to re-evaluate his friendships and let others share his secret, while in mourning Iona’s death, the villagers are also confronted with their attitudes to others. While I usually find book reading uncomfortable and difficult, due to dyslexia and visual stress, the short chapters and widely spaced text made for an easy flow of reading.Sometimes adults and children can feel closer to an animal than they do to other humans. Discuss Iona’s relationship with Iris compared to that with her grandfather and Callum. A bare outline of Sky Hawk makes it sound schematic, but Gill Lewis’ beautifully understated writing gently sweeps her reader along and the story, itself, quietly and lyrically conveys her moving and timely message of the interconnectedness of people with nature and people with people – whether within one village or across the earth. This is a beautiful book which will have resonance for many readers beyond its target readership. Themes from the book There is also the opportunity for the inclusion of drama, role-play and art as children could create their own tree house/den like Iona’s and Callum’s which could be filled with drawings the pupils have created of birds from their local area. The teacher could also read certain phrases with a good use of adjectives, the teacher could read the adjectives to the children and then encourage them to come up with their own adjectives for the actions and looks of the hawk.

The book had a few patterns of pain and sadness: when the bird hurt her foot, when Iona got ill and passed away and when Jeneba was ill and hurt her leg. Therefore, I think this gives the reader an important message that life is not always happy and joyful, but there can be moments of pain and sadness. The reader may then understand that sometimes pain and sadness can be sorted out and resolved but sometimes it can leave people with despair. For example, the main characters may have felt loss of hope when the bird cut her leg, they may have been worried and lost hope that the hawk would not be able to look after her eggs. The way that Gill Lewis portrayed each of the characters relationships with one another was also fantastic. The group dynamic between Callum, Euan and Rob was so well constructed, it felt very relatable as well, where two friends are closer than the third for some reason. The novel is written as a fiction genre. The book holds strong themes of relationship - family and friendship. The intertwining of fiction and nonfiction (COMMON CORE TEACHERS TAKE NOTE) in a way that fills MY own personal reading preferences. I know not all people are like me and enjoy making every vacation trip an educational experience or every stroll a nature walk, but this book made reading it doubly fun. Enough to excuse some of the author's uneven prose. (My longwinded writing has no such excuse ;-) ) My guess is that everyone who reads this book will be (or at least should be) inspired to use access to online resources to enrich both their educational and life experiences. Hopefully more will be encouraged to form international and intercultural "pen pal" relationships. There is a repetitive language phrases ‘kee, kee used in the text, this helps the reader to understand the noises of the hawk and how she tries to communicate with the characters.

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The mapping of the birds flight path is engaging enough to read- the vivid description of each new destination flew over naturally entices reader to create mental images. Allowing the class to explore their imagination through art, movement and music and then spending some time online, or in the school library, researching the destinations to compare their thought with could really engage children in the story and further develop their enjoyment and relatability with the rest of the story. Additionally, troubles around friendship etc. could be taken from another characters point of view; some children could be encouraged to view this point of view through a diary entry, some through drama- a wide range of differentiated, perhaps PSHE related, tasks could extend the pupils views of the different characters, as well as improving written and verbal communication skills. This book was a good read. It's main focusses are on nature and birds, in particular osprey's, and friendships and how they can change and be adapted. The story also touches on emotions and death and therefore the story pulls on the reader's heart strings as they can become attached to characters once they have got to know a bit about them. I have very mixed feelings about this book, i would say it is very much a book of two halves. To begin with it was absolutely captivating, the slow buildup to actually finding out about the Ospreys was great. It really felt as if I was reading the imagination of a child discovering such a unique thing and keeping it a secret.