Sky Hawk

Product Information

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 teacher could also read certain phrases with a good use of adjectives, the teacher could read the adjectives to the children and then encourage them to come up with their own adjectives for the actions and looks of the hawk. 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)

There is also an interest in Nature in the book which can be connected to Science. Activities such as, creating a fact-file of Osprey’s or getting children to explore their local environment through researching what birds they have near them could be influential in expanding their knowledge of living things and their habitats which is of significance in the Science National Curriculum. Sky Hawk is set in a small farming village in Scotland. It starts with a meeting between three boys who seem, at first, to be quite irritating and childish, especially Rob who is a bit of a show-off, and Iona, a girl who has returned to the village to live with her grandfather who is almost an outcast in the village.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. 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.

We could play a fun prediction game when we finish a chapter of the book, for example in chapter four Iona and Callum’s secret is finally revealed to us, and so after reading the previous chapter we could all think about what the secret could be and draw a picture or write about what each child thinks it is. 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. The mapping of the birds flight path is engaging enough to read- the vivid description of each new destination flew over naturally entices reader to create mental images. Allowing the class to explore their imagination through art, movement and music and then spending some time online, or in the school library, researching the destinations to compare their thought with could really engage children in the story and further develop their enjoyment and relatability with the rest of the story. Additionally, troubles around friendship etc. could be taken from another characters point of view; some children could be encouraged to view this point of view through a diary entry, some through drama- a wide range of differentiated, perhaps PSHE related, tasks could extend the pupils views of the different characters, as well as improving written and verbal communication skills. The novel is written as a fiction genre. The book is full of continuous themes linking to nature: the hawk, landscapes, bird nest, deserts and mountainsIt dealt with implying that there were problems with Iona's home life, this meant that more mature readers would understand the implications of what was said but not younger. 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.

The way that love of animals often seems to bring out the best in people, e.g. Callum and his friends. 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.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. The way that Gill Lewis portrayed each of the characters relationships with one another was also fantastic. The group dynamic between Callum, Euan and Rob was so well constructed, it felt very relatable as well, where two friends are closer than the third for some reason.

I have very mixed feelings about this book, i would say it is very much a book of two halves. To begin with it was absolutely captivating, the slow buildup to actually finding out about the Ospreys was great. It really felt as if I was reading the imagination of a child discovering such a unique thing and keeping it a secret.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.