Sunday, March 11, 2007
Skellig First Half
David Almond has a unique way of writing his story. The book was hard for me to read at first because of the way it was written. I felt like there were a lot of information just chunked into the book to extend it. The story took a while for me to understand the location and what Micheal was doing. The start of chapter three was odd for me because it started off by having words tied together and it made it difficult for me to read. Since the beginning of the book to chapter three, the story was vague. Then, the transition started to pick up by the change of the story format. It sounded more like a normal story by having events happening after another. In addition to the book, I thought that it was weird for the book to have a name, "Doctor Death." It can be creapy for children. The book showed some value of life by having some interesting qoutes. For example, on page 26, it said, "Drawing makes you look at the world more closely. It helps you to see what you're looking at more clearly..." I thought that this would be a great lesson for the reader to think about and relate it to their experiences in life.
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I agree that the first few chapters were a bit jumbled. But from reading the first half I found myself engaged in the reading. I believe a young reader would be interested in continuing the story and reading on. It seems like Skellig is part of Michael's imagination. He has made up this character in order to cope with his sister's ailments. He is also coping with moving into a new home. I could be completely wrong but this is how it appears. I think the fantasy of this "Skellig" as an individual is what is appealing to young readers. It is not Micheal entering into a fantasy place for a time but someone entering his world as a form of comfort when he is struggling with life. It seems like many young readers could relate to Michael.
The first couple chapters were a little harder to get into than in the end, I agree with my group members, but it still was very interesting. As soon as Skellig came into the picture I couldn't stop reading; I wanted Michael to show Mina so bad, just to make sure he was real, not just a figment of his imagination and I am glad that he wasn't. I really enjoy how Almond writes, the words he chooses are wonderful and the fact that Mina introduced Michael to William Blake and many other things was also great, it definitely teaches children to broaden their horizons.
Skellig was this man-like creature who was rotting away in a garage alone when Michael found him. He couldn’t move because he had “Arthur-itis,” was very emotionless, yet sarcastic at the same time and was giving up on life. What strikes me as odd is the question of what child, of that age, who finds a stranger in a dark place would continue to go back and not tell their parents ha…well I guess that is what makes this book so interesting.. He and Mina take Skellig to a safer place to take care of him, almost against his will, but Skellig soon begins to trust them. Michael somehow relates this creature to his baby sister who is very ill, in and out of the hospital, he thinks that maybe he is an angel or someone who can help. On pg. 112 he says, “I dreamed that Skellig entered the hospital ward. That he lifted the baby from her glass case. He pulled the tubes and wires from her. She reached up and touched his pale dry Skin with her little fingers and giggles.” Then on pg. 113” They stood there laughing. She bounced in his arms. They had lost their weaknesses and they were strong again.” This really moved me, Michael had been so strong through out and he wanted his family to be the same again and his sister to be okay. I think that his dream was real because not too long after he saw Mina who had gone to see Skellig, she said that he was asking about Michael and that he needs to keep coming to see him for the baby.
This book is a great one for children because it is fantasy but you can relate some parts of it to your own life. Mina’s character was a good one that brought up parts about the birds and how interesting they are, about William Blake and the thought of being home schooled. I would recommend this book without hesitation and I am really glad that we had the chance to read it.
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