Skellig

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What to expect

When a move to a new house coincides with his baby sister's illness, Michael's world seems suddenly lonely and uncertain.

Then, one Sunday afternoon, he stumbles into the old, ramshackle garage of his new home, and finds something magical. A strange creature - part owl, part angel, a being who needs Michael's help if he is to survive. With his new friend Mina, Michael nourishes Skellig back to health, while his baby sister languishes in the hospital.

But Skellig is far more than he at first appears, and as he helps Michael breathe life into his tiny sister, Michael's world changes for ever . . .

Skellig won the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book Award and is now a major Sky1 feature film, starring Tim Roth and John Simm. David Almond is also winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen award.

(P) Hodder Children's Books 1999

Critics Review

Lyrical, innovative and unforgettably moving.
Sunday Express (Cressida Cowell)
Lyrical, innovative and moving...unforgettably moving
Sunday Express
The book I wish I'd written is Skellig by David Almond. Almond's book has a great sense of the mysterious; we are left with a sense of wonder. I wish that I had written it!
Books For Keeps
This modern classic has been reissued in a beautiful 15th anniversary edition
The Sunday Telegraph
An exquisitely crafted book with a mystical core
The Daily Telegraph
The sort of children's book that makes adults find excuses to read more of them
Times Educational Supplement
Hard to put down
The Daily Telegraph
Refusing to read this book on the grounds that you are not a child makes as much sense as refusing to read crime fiction because you are not a criminal. A deep and lovely book.
The Times
An exquisite book
The Sunday Telegraph
Brings Magical Realism to working-class Northeast England
i (The Independent)
A story full of heart and magic and big confusing emotions, elegantly told by a master craftsman. A perfect piece of art
Big Issue (london)
Touched with a visionary intensity, this strange, hugely readable and life-affirming tale exercises every muscle of the imagination
The Guardian
Humorous, heart-stopping and haunting...an emotional roller-coaster of a read with a cliff-hanger of a conclusion. Inspired and inspiring.
Newcastle Journal
A visionary story...a lyrical, magical kind of book which can be read on many different levels
The Daily Mail
Voted Carnegie Medal's Number one Top Book of the past 70 years
The Times
I can't eat a chinese takeaway without thinking about this strange and beautiful book about an angel who seems to have lost his way.
The Big Issue
A bookshelf essential.
The Guardian
Deservedly popular
The Observer
Powerful and moving
Guardian.co.uk
A beautiful story which will enchant young and old alike
Western Morning News
A modern classic
Listed as on the of the 100 Best Children's Books Ever (Novels)
The Daily Telegraph
One of those books that you can't put down
Evening Echo (Cork)

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