Skellig

Title: Skellig
Author : Almond, David
Publisher: Delacorte Press, 1998
Genre: Adolescent Literature
Age Range: 7th - 10 grade
Awards: Michael L. Printz Award,

Summary: Skellig is the story of a young boy, Michael, who is dealing with a lot in his life. After moving into a new home, Michael tries to deal with the pressure of making new friends. He also has the pressure of dealing with his new baby sister that is sick. "Dr. Death" comes over a lot to check on her and Michael just wants her to be better. Michael is a curious boy and loves to explore his new home. He decides to go in the garage one day, which is full of junk, debris, and could potentially fall at any time. While in the garage, Michael notices a feeble character in the back. He is hunched over, has very long nails, is weak, and odd. Michael meets Mina, his neighbor. Mina helps Michael feed and become friends with the arthritic man, who we later know is Skellig. Skellig loves chinese food, beer, and aspirin. Eventually, Mina and Michael move Skellig out of the old garage and into an abandoned home. They learn that Skellig has wings. He takes Mina and Michael on a "flight," where they dance in a circle together and gain wings. Skellig gains enough energy to leave, and Michael later learns that he heals his baby sister. Michael regains his friendships with his buddies at school, loves his sister, and continues to learn and be friends with Mina.

Response: I say it allllll the time, but this book was different than so many others that I have read before, really. It reminded me a lot of the movie, Michael. One of the main reasonings behind this is the way that Skellig looks. If John Travolta would be older and more hunched over, he would fit the aesthetic drawing of Skellig perfectly. Not to mention, Skellig LOVES beer. So does Michael. I actually cried during this book because it evoked so many emotions. It teaches so many different things; friendship, love, family, creativity etc.... All of these aspects make this story very dynamic. I think so many things are symbolic in this book as well (Ex. the owls.) The references to William Blake also make readers more curious. Each of these makes the book spectacularly written! How much more can you ask for as a teacher?!

Teaching Ideas: I am planning on buying a copy (I actually already went to Barnes and Nobles to look for it) to put in my classroom library. This would be an AMAZING book to use in high school. It draws students in, teaches them literary elements such as symbolism, introduces ideas, such as William Blake, and parallels to great World Literature, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short story A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings. I know it isn't reliable sometimes, but Wikipedia has a great entry on this. I think these two pieces could be read seperatly and then compared. Students could even watch Michael and compare all three. They could differientiate between adolescent literature and "the classics" this way. I am really excited about introducing this book to students! -jeana