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Young readers will by enchanted by this magical tale of friendship and family:
Michael was looking forward to his new house and neighborhood, until his infant sister became very ill. Now his parents are constantly frantic, the scary doctor is always coming around, and Michael feels helpless. When he goes out into the old rickety garage, he comes across a mysterious being living beneath spider webs and eating flies for dinner. This creature calls himself Skellig, and over the weeks Michael and his new friend Mina bring Skellig out in to the light, and their worlds change forever.
A Whitbread Children's Book Award Winner.
"Starred Review. British novelist Almond makes a triumphant debut in the field of children's literature with prose that is at once eerie, magical and poignant. Ages 8-12." - Publishers Weekly.
"Starred Review. The beauty here is that there is no answer and readers will be left to wonder and debate, and make up their own minds. A lovingly done, thought-provoking novel. Grades 5-9. " - School Library Journal.
"...it goes beyond adventure story or family-with-a-problem story to become a story about worlds enlarging and the hope of scattering death." - The New York Times.
"Starred Review. As in Berlie Doherty's Snake-Stone (1996) or many of Janet Taylor Lisle's novels, the marvelous and the everyday mix in haunting, memorable ways. Ages 11-13" - Kirkus Reviews.
"Starred Review. Some of the writing takes one's breath away, especially the scenes in which Almond, without flinching, describes the beauty and the horror that is Skellig." - Booklist
This information about Skellig was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
David Almond, in his own words:
I was born in Newcastle and I grew up in a big Catholic family in
Felling-on-Tyne. I had four sisters and a brother and lots of relatives in the
streets nearby. My dad had been in Burma during the war. He and my mum married
in the late 40s. Dad became an office manager in an engineering factory. Mum was
a shorthand typist until she had the children. We moved several times when I was
a child, but always within Felling.
Felling had been a coal mining town, but by the time I remember anything the
pits were all closed. The river at the foot of the town was lined with
warehouses and shipyards. At the summit was a wild area we called the Heather
Hills. I loved playing football in the fields above the town, camping out with
my friends, ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to David Almond's Website
If you liked Skellig, try these:
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Published 2025
A haunting, unforgettable collection of tales by Samanta Schweblin, winner of the 2022 National Book Award for Translated Literature and three-time Booker Prize finalist.
by Sohn Won-pyung
Published 2021
The Emissary meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime in this poignant and triumphant story about how love, friendship, and persistence can change a life forever.
What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky
by Lesley Nneka Arimah
Published 2018
A dazzlingly accomplished debut collection explores the ties that bind parents and children, husbands and wives, lovers and friends to one another and to the places they call home.
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