Sky Hawk

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Then there was the sad moment in the book, I was heart broken when I read that Ioana had simply died, in one way it was predictable, but at the same time I did not expect it. I have mixed feelings on how the book dealt with it, from a child's point of view it felt like a good explanation of what happened. However for older readers it felt almost glossed over, it happened and then it was forgotten. As he tries to keep the promise he made to Iona, he follows the story of this majestic bird from Scottish mountains and lochs to Gambian mangrove swamps. He finds friendship in unexpected places. He discovers fear and loss and grief. But he is also inspired to reach further and higher than he'd ever dreamed he could... This beautifully written, captivating book should be on everyone's bookcase. Breathtaking. Poignant. Unforgettable. Callum and Iona form a deep bond of friendship. Callum has the strength of mind to stand up to his friend to defend Iona and she then shares an amazing secret with him about a wild creature that is living on his father's farm. Callum and Iona become very close friends and together they will do anything to protect the beautiful creature.

While I usually find book reading uncomfortable and difficult, due to dyslexia and visual stress, the short chapters and widely spaced text made for an easy flow of reading. I disliked the fact that Iona died in the book as I felt that it wasn’t necessary to the book and it made the book a little sad. This could affect children if the book was being read to key stage 1. However, the rest of the story is lovely to read with a happy ending. It didn’t feel like there was a clear link to the story for Iona to die therefore it didn’t feel as if it was needed.This book is full of beautiful imagery describing the hawk and nature. I loved the important messages that were portrayed in the book: kindness, friendships and love. I would also look Lewis’ use of ellipsis to build suspense and create tension in the story, for example: “I CAN’T! One. . . Do it. Go. . . The ground was gone. I was flying. . . falling.”. Using this technique keeps the reader on the edge of their seat and teaches children that when writing an exciting story, it can be a more effective way of writing because the reader has to wait longer to find out what has happened. We would come up with own examples of ellipsis to display on the board and then we would have a go at writing suspenseful paragraphs in Lewis’ style. The intertwining of fiction and nonfiction (COMMON CORE TEACHERS TAKE NOTE) in a way that fills MY own personal reading preferences. I know not all people are like me and enjoy making every vacation trip an educational experience or every stroll a nature walk, but this book made reading it doubly fun. Enough to excuse some of the author's uneven prose. (My longwinded writing has no such excuse ;-) ) My guess is that everyone who reads this book will be (or at least should be) inspired to use access to online resources to enrich both their educational and life experiences. Hopefully more will be encouraged to form international and intercultural "pen pal" relationships. Rich in atmosphere and full of heart, Sky Hawk is an intense and touching story of how protecting a rare bird forges a deep and special friendship between two children . . . Sky Hawk is an enthralling tale about a promise between two friends, Callum and Iona, that will change lives forever, and the power of friendship, loyalty, and hope. A book to treasure. Due to Skyhawk being an enjoyable story, the book would also be suitable to read as a class story with any KS2 class. The chapters aren’t too long so at least one could be read at a time.

The Strawberry Post https://thestrawberrypost.wordpress.com/2021/01/22/book-review-swan-song-by-gill-lewis/ ARC review https://lisasbooksgemsandtarot.wordpress.com/2021/01/05/arc-review-swan-song-gill-lewis/Gorilla Dawn won the Leeds Book Award and was shortlisted for the Little Rebels Award (highly commended), the UKLA Children’s Book of the Year, North Somerset Teacher’s Book Award and Steyning Grammar School Award. It was also selected for the 2016 Bookbuzz booklist. The US edition received a starred review from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, and it was selected for the Junior Library Guild. In the novel there was a continuous pattern of love and friendship: Callum developed a loving and caring friendship with Iona and Jeneba. There is also patterns of kindness and care: Callum continues to care and look after the bird and he cares for his family and friends. I loved Sky Hawk - it's a tremendously assured debut novel and it reminded me very much of the books Michael Morpurgo writes. It feels fresh and natural and spontaneous and I really felt as though I'd got inside Callum's skin. It's a lovely story told through landscape and it does a great job of showing the interconnectedness of the natural world. Iris the osprey divides her time between Scotland and Africa and her journeys unite two very different children from very different communities on very different continents. And yet the ties that unite them are much stronger than all those differences. If I were to use this text in my future classroom, I would create a receptive context by creating a display based on the book so that the children can imagine themselves inside the book as they are reading it. I would get some toy osprey and some pictures to put in the classroom so that the children can see what they look like. I may also get them to draw their own osprey pictures just like Iona did in the story. Another way in which I might create a receptive context for this story is by using drama and hot seating. I would choose some children to be the main characters in the book and then get the rest of the class to ask them questions so that they can understand the characters emotions and actions more clearly. This activity also gets all of the children involved in the story and keeps them interested. Before reading the story I would ask the children if any of them knew what an osprey is and also if any of them are from Scotland as this can create a bond between the children and the story. An edge-of-your-seat wildlife adventure that tells a very human story of friendship, discovery and an incredible journey. I loved it! -

In the novel Gill Lewis has given the reader clues about what the story will be about; introducing one of the main characters: the girl Iona and it also introduces the dark rivers and forests. This landscape is introduced to give the reader an idea of where the novel will be set. Powerful, evocative writing about landscape and the natural world, and delicately drawn characters existing within the complex nexus of human relationships in a small village are sensitively combined in this absorbing, very moving novel. The main character Bradley is a bully who finds life less painful if everyone hates him. But the arrival of Jeff, and a young counsellor Carla start to change things. I loved Sky Hawk-it's a tremendously assured debut novel and it reminded me very much of the books Michael Morpurgo writes. I can see teachers wanting to share this one with their classes because its themes are simultaneously diverse and universal, but I also think it's a book for all ages to savour at home. Highly recommended. Nothing prepared me for seeing her right in front of me. It was as if the lochs and the mountains and the sky were folded deep inside her, as if she was a small piece of this vast landscape and none of it could exist without her.’The way that love of animals often seems to bring out the best in people, e.g. Callum and his friends.