Sky Hawk

Product Information

This story is about leaving childhood and entering a world where, as George says, 'things are not simple anymore'. Children will love the adorable tale of friendship between boy and dog and Gizmo’s doggie memoirs, which are peppered throughout. I finished Sky Hawk because it was one of the best books, that don't have alot fo action, I've ever read. 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.

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. One of the reasons of why I love this book is because of its excitement and mystery also because it appeals to anyone who loves animals. This book has definitely got to be one of my favourites as it is a must read novel that you could not miss. 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 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. Having been ringed by the local nature warden, Callum and Iona follow the osprey’s migration route to the Gambia, then the signal abruptly disappears. And - unexpectedly, devastatingly - tragedy strikes, drawing the entire village into Iona’s secret... They form a deep bond of friendship and make a promise to keep their secret safe. It is a promise that will change Callum's world forever . . . 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. 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.

its absolutely amazing! Its the best book I have eeeeeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr read. I really enjoyed the various intertwined stories that all wrapped around Callum’s life and the journey of the Ospreys. I think these side stories kept the text engaging and allowed the time scale of the birds journey to become relatable.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)

Sky hawk is a realy good book. It's about this boy called Callum and this girl called Iona and Iona finds a realy rare bird thats not been seen for over 100 years and they lookafter it. And a couple days later they dicide they're going to camp out but Iona didn't make it but the problem is callum dicovers Iona dies. Sky Hawk by Gill Lewis is about a boy named Callum.One day he meets Iona who tells him an incredible secret.Ospreys are living in the woods beside his farm.Ospreys are endangered and are protected.He and Iona make a promise to keep the ospreys a secret but when Iona dies and the female osprey dissapears halfway through her migration will Callum be able to save the female osprey or will she disapear? 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.

When Callum and his friends find Iona Mcnair on the farm they chase her off - the McNairs are virtual outcasts in the village. Afterwards, worried, Callum follows her and Iona reluctantly reveals her secret: an osprey nest. Terrified of egg-stealers, she’s fiercely protecting it. Drawn to this deeply independent girl, Callum promises help. After realising her childhood dream of becoming a vet, Gill worked in the UK and overseas, everywhere from Africa to the Arctic. 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 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. 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.

Throughout the book there are also opportunities to interweave PSHE, for instance, discussing the treatment of wild birds in the book and why it is important to protect such rare species. The book moreover, holds strong themes of relationships - family and friendship. Specifically, the challenges we face in relationships such as, bully, jealousy and loss, topics which are relatable to pupils. I really want this book it seems really good and interesting! It looks brilliant to read I can't wait if I receive this book I loved this slow-burning but gripping story of friendship, trust, and determination to do the right thing, in which a bird is lost but a friend is found. It raises moral questions about caring for our neighbours, our wildlife and our planet. The way that love of animals often seems to bring out the best in people, e.g. Callum and his friends.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.