Who is this man? Will Michael’s sister be alright? One day, Michael wanders into the garage and discovers a very strange man. His sister is extremely ill, and it is uncertain whether she will live. He has moved into a very creepy old house, and his mother has just given birth to a newborn sister. He is experiencing multiple high stress events in his life. Written in 1998, Skellig is a young adult fantasy novella which focuses on a young boy named Michael. He is an author often suggested on National Curriculum reading lists in the United Kingdom and has attracted the attention of academics who specialise in the study of children's literature.Īlmond currently lives with his family in Northumberland, England.Īwards: Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (2010). He has been greatly influenced by the works of the English Romantic poet William Blake. Recurring themes throughout include the complex relationships between apparent opposites (such as life and death, reality and fiction, past and future) forms of education growing up and adapting to change the nature of 'the self'. His works are highly philosophical and thus appeal to children and adults alike.

His first play aimed at adolescents, Wild Girl, Wild Boy, toured in 2001 and was published in 2002. His subsequent novels are: Kit's Wilderness (1999), Heaven Eyes (2000), Secret Heart (2001), The Fire Eaters (2003) and Clay (2005). His first children's novel, Skellig (1998), set in Newcastle, won the Whitbread Children's Novel of the Year Award and also the Carnegie Medal. He started out as an author of adult fiction before finding his niche writing literature for young adults. When he was young, he found his love of writing when some short stories of his were published in a local magazine. He was born and raised in Felling and Newcastle in post-industrial North East England and educated at the University of East Anglia. Also I thought 'Skellig' was a strange but enjoyable book because of the mysterious man in the falling-down garage.David Almond is a British children's writer who has penned several novels, each one to critical acclaim.

I think this is a powerful and moving book because you feel like you are right there with Michael feeling how hard life is for him. The mysterious creature who he has learnt to love and care for is going away, he is sure his baby sister is dead and on top of all that he has school friends and school work to worry about. When she goes into hospital to have a possible life or death operation on her heart Michael thinks his whole world has collapsed. Together they help the creature get stronger and stronger, but there is something constantly on Michael's mind. He doesn't want to tell anyone about this mysterious man except from the girl across the road called Mina.

Michael has just moved into a new house and has a huge surprise when he finds a crippled living being in his new but crumbling 'garage'. In this book the main character is a boy called Michael.

Skellig novel