From: Flyingpig2 at aol.com <Flyingpig2>
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 11:45:42 EDT

When I first read Skellig and got excited about David Almond's writing, I thought of the book as having "crossover" appeal to both younger readers and adults, but wasn't sure how broad his appeal would be among children. Almond's ear is so sophisticated and, as many have already mentioned, his endings are not tidy. (Contrast them with the HP books!)

I was therefore surprised and gratified to discover that many fifth and sixth graders in my town love Skellig, and appreciate everything about his writing that I also love. They may not obsess as much about his language and rhythm, but they are caught up in the mystery and beauty of the story, and the friendship between Mina and Michael, and the fate of the baby. Some of the kids who rave about it are not necessarily the ones I would have pegged as having the tolerance for ambiguity that Skellig requires. I agree with the poster who observed that reactions do not seem to have age lines, but taste lines. (I do think that the kids who like it are also the kids who like Edward Bloor's Tangerine and Tim Wynne-Jones's Stephen Fair.)

For my part, David Almond is the most exciting new writer I've encountered in a long time. I'm dying to talk about Kit's Wilderness, but I gather we're restraining ourselves until the Skellig discussion is further along?

(I get this list in digest form and therefore occasionally miss the scheduling posts as I scroll through the many pages of duplicate postings. I wonder if, when people reply to others' posts, it would be possible only to copy the relevant line or so, rather than repeating the entire email? Sometimes there are even two or three previous postings attached to someone's brief reply.)

Thanks, Elizabeth Bluemle

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Elizabeth Bluemle Flying Pig Children's Books 86 Ferry Rd., P.O. Box 147 Charlotte, VT 05445 802B5&00 flyingpig2 at aol.com
Received on Fri 14 Jul 2000 10:45:42 AM CDT