Product Description

Michael was looking forward to moving house, but now his baby sister’s ill and his parents are frantic. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage and discovers something beneath the spiders’ webs and dead flies. Is it a human being, or a strange kind of beast never seen before? The only person Michael can confide in is Mina. Together, they carry the creature into the light, and Michael's world changes forever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #449851 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-14
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Audio CD

Amazon.co.uk Review
Michael can feel his sick baby sister's heart beating inside him, and as long as he can feel it he knows she is alive. But as her condition becomes life-threatening and the family faces the nightmare of an operation to save her life, Michael turns to his new friend Mina and the strange being, Skellig, who has been living beneath the crumbling garage at the family's new home.

In this most delicate and tender story of a young boy living in fear of death and coming to terms with life, you can almost touch the indefinable magic that Skellig--part owl, part human, part everything and nothing--brings to Michael's unsettled world.

With the gentle touch of an angel's breath, Almond, in his first novel for children, lets his characters think, feel and believe without overwhelming sentimentality. A dream of a book to touch even the hardest of hearts. --Susan Harrison

TES
... This is a tender and powerful tale which has a poetic and psychological accuracy. A marvellous and unnerving debut.'

Review
'A quite extraordinary book. Tender, lyrical, yet it crackles with suspense. He makes the incredible utterly credible. A story which burns bright from first to last, and for long after the last is over.' (Micheal Morpurgo )

'... This is a tender and powerful tale which has a poetic and psychological accuracy. A marvellous and unnerving debut.' (TES )

'... A stunning debut ... An extraordinary book.' (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

'...gripping, fascinating, a beautiful book.' (JOAN AIKEN )

'Everyone is raving about this unforgettable book.' (THE SUNDAY TIMES )

'A story of faith, written with equisite, heart-fluttering tenderness. It is an extraordinarily profound book, no matter what the age of the reader.' (THE CHAIRMAN OF THE WHITBREAD JUDGES )

'A fascinating new voice.' (MELVIN BURGESS )

Customer Reviews

A beautifully lyrical tale
I read this remarkable little book in the space of a day. It tells the story of a 10 year-old boy, Michael, who discovers a strange and decrepit being in the delapidated garage of his new house. This discovery coincides with the premature birth of his baby sister and so begins a testing period for Michael and his family, as the baby battles to hold on to life. Luckily, Michael has Mina, an extraordinary, home-educated young girl with a penchant for William Blake and an impressive knowledge of the natural - and supernatural - world. Together they coax Skellig out of hiding and as he gains stature so too does their hope for the baby's survival.

The story itself is touching, but for me it was the language the author employs which elevated this novel into the realms of something truly special. Simple, succint, and unpretentious, Almond's words lend Skellig a lyrical beauty that allows the reader to be swept along by Michael's story however fantastical it may seem.

Although I enjoyed it immensely, I can see Skellig dividing opinion among children: many will adore it for the reasons outlined above, while others may find it 'unbelievable'. That said, I would recommend it to readers of any age willing to suspend their disbelief for the sake of a wonderfully written novel.

Matt Pucci

WHAT A WONDERFUL BOOK!!!!
What can I say - i have 2 children aged 7 and 9, I read the first chapter in the evening and when they went to bed I read the whole book - it brought tears to my eyes - i have read many childrens book and never have i read a book that touched me as this book does - it is a wonderful story, i loved the girl in the story she has learned so much about life without going to school -the book held my children (WHICH IS QUITE HARD) and every night they said skellig!! read some more - all i can say is you have to read it, a wonderful touching emotional book that just makes me want to read it again and again!!!

Skellig
Skellig is a truly magnificent book. It was the second book I read in high school but when we were only on the first few chapters i was so interested in the story that i begged my dad to buy it for me so i could find out what happened in it before everyone else.
It is a truly excellent read, full of beauty, love, friendship and nature. Its many references to past, Greek myths, Darwin, Evolution, William Blake, fossils, athritis, religion, angels and nature, shows just how gripping Almond can make his story.
I cried with Michael, I laughed with Michael and I prayed with him for his sister. A truly unforgettable read, full of richness and splendour!
Skellig and Michael are named after the rocky island of Skellig Michael in County Kerry, Ireland