Skellig

Skellig is a truly special story—vivid, imaginative, and filled with mystery, yet told with such beautiful simplicity. I was especially moved by Michael, the protagonist, and his deep care for his newborn sister. That same tenderness is extended to Skellig, the strange, potentially angelic figure he discovers, weak and hidden away in the garage of their new home.

What struck me most was the way Michael’s family, though under immense stress, continues to push forward together. And how, through this journey, casual acquaintances grow into meaningful friendships. The connection between Michael, Mina, and Skellig becomes something quietly magical—intimate, otherworldly, and deeply human.

Skellig himself begins as a gruff and mysterious figure, tired and distant. But as the story unfolds, we learn how profound he really is, and how significant it is for him to share his existence with these children. There's a quiet wisdom in him that reveals itself slowly, and it makes the story all the more powerful.

I also loved the small details—those vivid, fleeting moments that make a book stick with you. Reading it again as an adult, I found myself recognizing little things I’d forgotten from my childhood reading, like the Chinese takeaway numbers. It brought a sense of nostalgia that made the experience even richer.

Skellig is a quiet, hauntingly beautiful book that leaves you hoping for the very best for Michael and his family. It’s the kind of story that lingers—and a perfect read for children and adults alike. I imagine younger readers will come away with the same sense of wonder and hope that stayed with me.

I really enjoyed Skellig because it’s mysterious,, and beautifully written. The main character is Michael, a boy who discovers a strange creature in his garage while dealing with his baby sister being very ill and moving to a new house all at the same time.

The book made me think about life, nature and how people (or creatures!) can change each other in unexpected ways. It’s both sad and hopeful at times,

I’d recommend Skellig to readers aged 10 and up who like books with a touch of mystery and magic.

Content warning: There are themes of illness and death, which might be upsetting for readers with illness in their family.

Mina is my favourite character I would definitely recommend this to other people

A really good novel

I devoured this book. It is simply one of the best children’s books I have ever read. Tender, shocking, tense, funny and has the bones of truth running through this supernatural story. Full of subtle mediations on grief, death, love and belonging. Wonderful.

Well written book.

I first started reading this book a few years ago and put it down too quickly. I am very glad that I returned to give it another go as it is an awesome story. I really loved Michael and Mina: they were unlikely friends but had a very special bond. It was heartening to hear of Michael's struggles with his mental health despite being a popular boy who enjoyed football. Mina is a wonderful, creative, independent girl who supports him through his worries. A magical and beautiful story.

Amazing book

Amazing book

This book is very enticing, it shows how a boy brings a creature back to life. Though the book is very good, I only give it 4 stars as it doesn`t give information from where the creature, Skellig is from.

I love this book, especially since it has the same characters as My Name Is Mina! My fave characters are Mina, Michael, Skellig and Joy. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It is AMAZING

This story is a really big thriller and has the vibes that connects you to the story as the story is so likely to happen on the real life.

Inspired to read this by the fabulous ‘The Final Year’ by Matt Goodfellow and so glad I did. Have recommended it to others already.

I re-read this book recently (after having read the excellent 'The Final Year'). I was reminded why I loved this story - the characters are likeable and believable and the storyline is quite simple but so fantastic. A true classic!

I really enjoyed Skellig. Right from the start you are hooked - who is this creature and where has he come from. Another great book for Year 6, again with mature themes.

Easy read, not extremely engaging nor entertaining

i love it! one of my favorite books ever sad and happy

Highly recommend. Quick read. Some lovely descriptions of Skellig throughout.

This shows that being kind can lead to amazing things and to accept what you have

A really good book and I would love to read it again

I enjoyed this book because it was so good and emotional. My favourite character is mina because she is so bossy. I also like skellig and Michael

This is my second reading of Skellig. I re-read it initially because my daughter was reading it at school and I wanted to support her in her work- long story, not for now. The first time I read it, I hated it. This time, I think I could appreciate it more and became more involved with the characters. I had also just read ‘My Name is Mina’ when I started the re-read, so that also gave me another perspective. I still struggle with the magical, repulsive figure of Skellig himself… I had completely forgotten about the flying dance and the incident in the hospital with Michael’s mother and the baby… At least I wanted to finish it this time, rather than dragging myself through it as I did first time around. 🦉
PS I preferred My Name is Mina…
PPS I also just read, Paper Bird, Paper Boat - what was going on there? It was as though it was written for a completely different, younger audience 🤔🤔🤔

This was a beautiful heartwarming novel. Full of emotion. I couldn't wait to turn the page. Some funny parts, thoughtful parts and at times gripping.
It has also inspired me to do some art around the Skellig character.
I would recommend this book to anyone to read and feel that it will stay with me for a very long time.

This was a beautiful heartwarming novel. Full of emotion. I couldn't wait to turn the page. Some funny parts, thoughtful parts and at times gripping.
It has also inspired me to do some art around the Skellig character.
I would recommend this book to anyone to read and feel that it will stay with me for a very long time.

Thoughts:
This is a unique book about a wild animal. The book author won a book prize for children’s literature called “the Carnegie Medal”. This is a story we read in class and for homework during the Autumn term and I reviewed in discussion with my parents in the school holidays.

Main characters:
The main character is a unique creature that is part-owl (or part bird of prey) and part-angel.

Genre: A fictional book written by David Almond.

Recommended to: Year 6 classes

Used as a whole class reading book. An interesting story but not great sentence structures to model to children.

It was good but then they didn’t say a lot about skellig after they moved him

I have heard Skellig mentioned in the past a number of times and on these occasions the feedback has always been positive. Initially I lacked confidence whether this would be a book I would enjoy but I was happily proven wrong. I really enjoyed the style of writing David Almond used in the story; the
descriptive writing really helped the reader to engage in the story, the detail used for the description of Skellig was intriguing. The structure of the writing gave the story a fast pace to it with the short and quick sentences which in turn-built suspense throughout the story. I enjoyed the perspective of the story being told by Michael as you got a real sense of his emotions throughout the story especially dealing with his baby sister being poorly, family and friend relationships and his discovery of Skellig. The ending I felt worked well as it left the reader with more questions and curiosity, it was interesting to find out there are still questions the author has about the story. Providing a great opening in the classroom to have discussions about the questions they have such as, where did Skellig come from? who is Skellig? what happened to Michael’s baby sister? Did Mina & Michael stay friends?

I have heard Skellig mentioned in the past a number of times and on these occasions the feedback has always been positive. Initially I lacked confidence whether this would be a book I would enjoy but I was happily proven wrong. I really enjoyed the style of writing David Almond used in the story; the descriptive writing really helped the reader to engage in the story, the detail used for the description of Skellig was intriguing. The structure of the writing gave the story a fast pace to it with the short and quick sentences which in turn built suspense throughout the story. I enjoyed the perspective of the story being told by Michael as you got a real sense of his emotions throughout the story especially dealing with his baby sister being poorly, family and friend relationships and his discovery of Skellig. The ending I felt worked well as it left the reader with more questions and curiosity, it was interesting to find out there are still questions the author has about the story. Providing a great opening in the classroom to have discussions about the questions they have such as, where did Skellig come from? who is Skellig? what happened to Michael’s baby sister? Did Mina & Michael stay friends?

I really enjoyed this novel and the friendship between Mina and Michael, and became emotional when the baby had to go back into the hospital. It feels as if there were two stories happening that came together when Skellig visited the baby in the hospital.