Sky Hawk

Product Information

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. 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. 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. 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.

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 courage of the author in killing off a quirky lead character early in the book. Meningitis is a very abrupt death. The author's choice to end a prominent character's role without much warning is tribute to the fact that this is a dangerous disease that strikes fast and invokes fear in the community when it occurs. I happen to know a beautiful, genuinely good, healthy young college graduate who died suddenly overnight after falling asleep with a fever as Iona did, and there is no foreshadowing possible. The truth can be painful. That the author chose to include this very rare occurrence in a child's life, while having a fragile, wounded migrating bird survive against all odds, is a risky decision as an author, but one that had a huge impact on Callum's character development. 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. 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 liked the emphasis on emotions and friendships in this story and how it also touches on bullying, especially when Iona joins the class and is called a weirdo by her new classmates. This is effective as it can relate the character to the readers life, especially if they have been bullied in the past and can also create sympathy for the character due to the way in which she is treated. I liked how Callum went against his friends who were mean to Iona and decided to be her friend. I also liked how Callum's soft side came out as the strong went on and the character developed. The beginning of this was shown when he became friends with Iona through the osprey and then how he decided to create a fundraiser to help a girl in the Gambia that he had been messaging over losing his osprey (Iris) so that she could have a life-changing operation.

Then there was the sad moment in the book, I was heart broken when I read that Ioana had simply died, in one way it was predictable, but at the same time I did not expect it. I have mixed feelings on how the book dealt with it, from a child's point of view it felt like a good explanation of what happened. However for older readers it felt almost glossed over, it happened and then it was forgotten.

It 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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.