Sky Hawk

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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.’ Sita Brahmachari – ‘A lovesong to the timeless bond between humans and dogs as well as an important allegory for hope.’ 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. 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.

This beautifully written, captivating book should be on everyone's bookcase. Breathtaking. Poignant. Unforgettable. A good activity that could develop the children’s knowledge of the book may be to ask the children to illustrate the front cover and consider the main themes that they think are important in the book. 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. This book was a good read. It's main focusses are on nature and birds, in particular osprey's, and friendships and how they can change and be adapted. The story also touches on emotions and death and therefore the story pulls on the reader's heart strings as they can become attached to characters once they have got to know a bit about them.Lewis now draws the threads of her story tightly together, as co-operation between the widely distant communities of the Scottish Highlands and the Gambia work to transform the life, first of wounded Iris and then of Jeneba herself. In helping Jeneba, Callum both brings his community together and finds a resolution to his own grief for Iona. I don't give nearly enough recommendations for books where animals can be an agent of change! How about some classics - One-Eyed Cat by Paula Fox or The Peppermint Pig by Nina Bawden. And just because it's lovely, there's always Born To Run by Michael Morpurgo. Gill Lewis' beautifully understated writing gently sweeps her reader along and the story, itself, quietly and lyrically conveys her moving and timely message of the interconnectedness of people with nature and people with people - whether within one village or across the earth. This is a beautiful book which will have resonance for many readers beyond its target readership. 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. 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.

The truth that the internet can forge long distance friendships that are real (some people argue/ worry that time spent on the internet deprives children of "real" friendships) 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. There is a repetitive language phrases ‘kee, kee used in the text, this helps the reader to understand the noises of the hawk and how she tries to communicate with the characters. Nizrana Farook – ‘A story of love, survival, loyalty and lifelong bonds. It tugged at my heart and made me sob, it made me yearn with Pup for the love he so desperately sought… It’s a book that everybody should read – it’s man’s best friend in a whole new light.’ The book had a few patterns of pain and sadness: when the bird hurt her foot, when Iona got ill and passed away and when Jeneba was ill and hurt her leg. Therefore, I think this gives the reader an important message that life is not always happy and joyful, but there can be moments of pain and sadness. The reader may then understand that sometimes pain and sadness can be sorted out and resolved but sometimes it can leave people with despair. For example, the main characters may have felt loss of hope when the bird cut her leg, they may have been worried and lost hope that the hawk would not be able to look after her eggs.

Summary: Lovely story of love, loss and conservation and how one wild bird can bring friends, families and even strangers together. This one will be great within a school context, but is just as fulfilling to read at home. Recommended.

Shortlisted for the Tir na n-Og award – for a book in the English language category https://llyfrau.cymru/en/gwobrau/tir-na-nog/tir-na-n-og-awards-shortlist-2022/ 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. Are there similarities between life in The Gambia and that in Scotland? Are there differences? How are the attitudes of adults to Jeneba different from those to Iona? There is also the opportunity for the inclusion of drama, role-play and art as children could create their own tree house/den like Iona’s and Callum’s which could be filled with drawings the pupils have created of birds from their local area.From this point on I enjoyed the book less and less, it was a quaint story but it didn't feel as believable. The Africa side of the story felt like a sequel to the book instead of a second half. It felt much more aimed at younger children from chapter 28 or so onward. It's about conservation and the value of nature and tradition. It's about friendship, and love and loss and grief. And I found it utterly joyful to read. Lewis writes with great clarity but she's also put a great deal of emotion into this book, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I shed a tear or two between the smiles. 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. A bare outline of Sky Hawk makes it sound schematic, but Gill Lewis’ beautifully understated writing gently sweeps her reader along and the story, itself, quietly and lyrically conveys her moving and timely message of the interconnectedness of people with nature and people with people – whether within one village or across the earth. This is a beautiful book which will have resonance for many readers beyond its target readership. Themes from the book This book took me two days to read as I just couldn’t put it down. It was just such an easy journey to follow and be a part of. There is so much you can do with characterisation: Callum is such an interesting character as he is incredibly subtle and reserved in his speech but as a narrator, you can really connect with him and understand his internal thoughts and feelings towards Iona and the ospreys. Callum and Iona dedicate themselves to such a heartwarming and resilient journey to ensure the safety of the ospreys and even without Iona, Callum remains strong and determined to fight for Iris until the very end.