Sky Hawk

Product Information

Powerful, evocative writing about landscape and the natural world, and delicately drawn characters existing within the complex nexus of human relationships in a small village are sensitively combined in this absorbing, very moving novel. In the novel there was a continuous pattern of love and friendship: Callum developed a loving and caring friendship with Iona and Jeneba. There is also patterns of kindness and care: Callum continues to care and look after the bird and he cares for his family and friends. This story is about leaving childhood and entering a world where, as George says, 'things are not simple anymore'. Children will love the adorable tale of friendship between boy and dog and Gizmo’s doggie memoirs, which are peppered throughout.

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. Sky hawk is a realy good book. It's about this boy called Callum and this girl called Iona and Iona finds a realy rare bird thats not been seen for over 100 years and they lookafter it. And a couple days later they dicide they're going to camp out but Iona didn't make it but the problem is callum dicovers Iona dies. From this point on I enjoyed the book less and less, it was a quaint story but it didn't feel as believable. The Africa side of the story felt like a sequel to the book instead of a second half. It felt much more aimed at younger children from chapter 28 or so onward. It dealt with implying that there were problems with Iona's home life, this meant that more mature readers would understand the implications of what was said but not younger.Sky Hawk by Gill Lewis is about a boy named Callum.One day he meets Iona who tells him an incredible secret.Ospreys are living in the woods beside his farm.Ospreys are endangered and are protected.He and Iona make a promise to keep the ospreys a secret but when Iona dies and the female osprey dissapears halfway through her migration will Callum be able to save the female osprey or will she disapear? I liked the emphasis on emotions and friendships in this story and how it also touches on bullying, especially when Iona joins the class and is called a weirdo by her new classmates. This is effective as it can relate the character to the readers life, especially if they have been bullied in the past and can also create sympathy for the character due to the way in which she is treated. I liked how Callum went against his friends who were mean to Iona and decided to be her friend. I also liked how Callum's soft side came out as the strong went on and the character developed. The beginning of this was shown when he became friends with Iona through the osprey and then how he decided to create a fundraiser to help a girl in the Gambia that he had been messaging over losing his osprey (Iris) so that she could have a life-changing operation. 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. I finished Sky Hawk because it was one of the best books, that don't have alot fo action, I've ever read.

its absolutely amazing! Its the best book I have eeeeeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr read. Sky Hawk is set in a small farming village in Scotland. It starts with a meeting between three boys who seem, at first, to be quite irritating and childish, especially Rob who is a bit of a show-off, and Iona, a girl who has returned to the village to live with her grandfather who is almost an outcast in the village. I loved this slow-burning but gripping story of friendship, trust, and determination to do the right thing, in which a bird is lost but a friend is found. It raises moral questions about caring for our neighbours, our wildlife and our planet. I would also look Lewis’ use of ellipsis to build suspense and create tension in the story, for example: “I CAN’T! One. . . Do it. Go. . . The ground was gone. I was flying. . . falling.”. Using this technique keeps the reader on the edge of their seat and teaches children that when writing an exciting story, it can be a more effective way of writing because the reader has to wait longer to find out what has happened. We would come up with own examples of ellipsis to display on the board and then we would have a go at writing suspenseful paragraphs in Lewis’ style.

You may also like…

One of the reasons of why I love this book is because of its excitement and mystery also because it appeals to anyone who loves animals. This book has definitely got to be one of my favourites as it is a must read novel that you could not miss. I think that 'sky hawk' was a great read! I loved the cliffhangers and and the breathtaking parts that only made you want to read more. I disliked the use of some words and word choices. I feel as if Gill Lewis could of used I little bit more of a variety of language. All in all a great read!

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) The way that love of animals often seems to bring out the best in people, e.g. Callum and his friends.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. The novel is written as a fiction genre. The book is full of continuous themes linking to nature: the hawk, landscapes, bird nest, deserts and mountains She turned her head, and fixed me with her brilliant yellow eyes. She looked right into me. And suddenly I knew then, in that one moment, I was as much part of her world as she was of mine.

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. When Col is evacuated, his sister Rose stays behind in London to help with the war effort. But when he learns Rose is in danger, Col and his guardians - his childhood imaginary friends - must embark on a quest to save her. Callum and Iona form a deep bond of friendship. Callum has the strength of mind to stand up to his friend to defend Iona and she then shares an amazing secret with him about a wild creature that is living on his father's farm. Callum and Iona become very close friends and together they will do anything to protect the beautiful creature. The book ‘Sky Hawk’ is about a boy and a girl, Callum and Iona. The two discover something amazing. The amazing thing is that there are ospreys on the farm Callum lives on. Iona wants to keep it a secret, even from him but she tells him and he agrees to keeping it a secret too. For awhile this discovery is only known by Callum and Iona but soon the whole village in Scotland knows. My favourite part of the book is when Callum promises Iona that he will take care of Iris. Iris pl... Worried for Iona’s safety, Callum follows to find her shivering with cold but refusing to leave. She is guarding a secret hidden in the forest above the dark waters of the loch. So they make a deal.If I were to use this text in my future classroom, I would create a receptive context by creating a display based on the book so that the children can imagine themselves inside the book as they are reading it. I would get some toy osprey and some pictures to put in the classroom so that the children can see what they look like. I may also get them to draw their own osprey pictures just like Iona did in the story. Another way in which I might create a receptive context for this story is by using drama and hot seating. I would choose some children to be the main characters in the book and then get the rest of the class to ask them questions so that they can understand the characters emotions and actions more clearly. This activity also gets all of the children involved in the story and keeps them interested. Before reading the story I would ask the children if any of them knew what an osprey is and also if any of them are from Scotland as this can create a bond between the children and the story. 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. This book took me two days to read as I just couldn’t put it down. It was just such an easy journey to follow and be a part of. There is so much you can do with characterisation: Callum is such an interesting character as he is incredibly subtle and reserved in his speech but as a narrator, you can really connect with him and understand his internal thoughts and feelings towards Iona and the ospreys. Callum and Iona dedicate themselves to such a heartwarming and resilient journey to ensure the safety of the ospreys and even without Iona, Callum remains strong and determined to fight for Iris until the very end.