Sky Hawk

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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 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. A thrilling and heart-warming novel by award-winning author Gill Lewis, celebrating the unique bond between humans and animals and the power of unconditional love. 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.

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.’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?

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... 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. 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. This short novel follows Bertie as he grows up in the veldt in Africa where he rescues a white lion cub. When he moves away to boarding school in England the lion is sold into a circus, but they meet again and Bertie rescues the lion one more time. My thanks to the good people at OUP for sending the book. And note that it's called Wild Wings in the United States! We also have a review od Sky Dancer by Gill Lewis.

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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. 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. 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. - www.thebookbag.co.uk