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mlinamman's review
5.0
I loved this book! It was a moving tale of the power of friendship and how the life of one bird pulled a community together.
Check out my full review at:
https://mlinamman.blogspot.com/2021/09/book-review-wild-wings-by-gill-lewis.html
Check out my full review at:
https://mlinamman.blogspot.com/2021/09/book-review-wild-wings-by-gill-lewis.html
lubluemoon_13's review against another edition
3.0
I'm just processing the end.
I realy enjoing reading the drama and the story, it was absoluty easy to read. I like the way Callum did the things, and the way of think that he has, because it's too much for his age. Even there was parts in the book that I though "This child really has 11?". He has the kind of personality of a young person, but the way of think as a adult.
However, I think that the writter, did an amazing job making this book.
I realy enjoing reading the drama and the story, it was absoluty easy to read. I like the way Callum did the things, and the way of think that he has, because it's too much for his age. Even there was parts in the book that I though "This child really has 11?". He has the kind of personality of a young person, but the way of think as a adult.
However, I think that the writter, did an amazing job making this book.
annieliz's review
4.0
Like Hoot, but with Osprey and set in Scotland and The Gambia. Lots of opportunities for connections to science, technology, and worldwide issues. Makes plain the difference in lifestyles in Scotland and The Gambia.
alicebennett's review against another edition
5.0
Lewis’ ‘Sky Hawk’ is a story of friendship, perseverance, hope and mystery set in the countryside of Scotland. It is about two unlikely friends, protagonist Callum and fiery Iona, who share an incredible secret that pushes their emotions to the edge as they struggle to protect it. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found myself in tears at one point because I was so invested in Lewis’ very real characters. The book would go into the adventure and animal category and would be suitable for children 9 and older (Upper Key Stage Two).
I really liked the author’s use of description in creating the characters of Iona and Callum. For example, Iona is described as a: “pale skinny girl” with “floating ends of her long red hair”. This immediately tells readers that Iona is unique and sets her apart from the boys watching her. Iona is seen lying on a rock with her hands deep into the water of the loch below trying to catch a fish, implying that she is brave, independent and may be trying to fend for herself and perhaps a family struggling to get by. As a teacher, I could ask my children to find quotes from the first two chapters of the book that support these ideas to help them learn to analyse and justify their answers. We could also do something similar for Callum and make predictions about what we think might happen to them both in the story.
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.
I would ask the children to go through different sections of the text and pick some of their favourite words and phrases, for example I would draw their attention to: “a smudge of purple mountains”. We could create pictures around these phrases to explore the meaning of: “a smudge” and spark the children’s imagination for their own creative and descriptive writing.
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 book also offers lots of cross-curricular opportunities including Geography, the aforementioned Art, History, Music and Science. The story takes place in rural Scotland and so I would teach the class about Scottish culture, lifestyle, history and legends, such as the famous Loch-ness monster. We would have fun decorating the classroom with flags, a multitude of birds, flowers and maybe a pretend lake filled with fish and our own monster. Furthermore, the story is also centred around Osprey birds of prey. The children would learn all about different birds and I’d show them videos and pictures of impressive birds of prey. We could do a research project on different types of birds, adaptation and migration, as we see with the journey of Iris. In Music we could create our own bird noises using a variety of instruments and see if the children can identify each others. I would also introduce the children to classic stories and Greek mythology because the name of the female osprey is Iris, the Greek goddess of the wind and sky. The book also deals with death and grief which I would handle in a sensitive way and teach older children about this in a PSHE lesson where they could support each other and understand it more.
Moreover, the book features different styles of writing and this would be the perfect opportunity to teach the children about these, for example writing inserts from Callum’s diary, writing a newspaper article about the village campaign raising lots of money for Jebena's operation, a bird fact file, a letter to Jebena in the hospital and creative writing about Iris’ journey in South Africa with the coordinates of her position at the time. Children would really enjoy writing in a variety of styles, learning about the audience, features and purpose for each one and using pages from the book as models for writing their own osprey adventures.
I really liked the author’s use of description in creating the characters of Iona and Callum. For example, Iona is described as a: “pale skinny girl” with “floating ends of her long red hair”. This immediately tells readers that Iona is unique and sets her apart from the boys watching her. Iona is seen lying on a rock with her hands deep into the water of the loch below trying to catch a fish, implying that she is brave, independent and may be trying to fend for herself and perhaps a family struggling to get by. As a teacher, I could ask my children to find quotes from the first two chapters of the book that support these ideas to help them learn to analyse and justify their answers. We could also do something similar for Callum and make predictions about what we think might happen to them both in the story.
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.
I would ask the children to go through different sections of the text and pick some of their favourite words and phrases, for example I would draw their attention to: “a smudge of purple mountains”. We could create pictures around these phrases to explore the meaning of: “a smudge” and spark the children’s imagination for their own creative and descriptive writing.
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 book also offers lots of cross-curricular opportunities including Geography, the aforementioned Art, History, Music and Science. The story takes place in rural Scotland and so I would teach the class about Scottish culture, lifestyle, history and legends, such as the famous Loch-ness monster. We would have fun decorating the classroom with flags, a multitude of birds, flowers and maybe a pretend lake filled with fish and our own monster. Furthermore, the story is also centred around Osprey birds of prey. The children would learn all about different birds and I’d show them videos and pictures of impressive birds of prey. We could do a research project on different types of birds, adaptation and migration, as we see with the journey of Iris. In Music we could create our own bird noises using a variety of instruments and see if the children can identify each others. I would also introduce the children to classic stories and Greek mythology because the name of the female osprey is Iris, the Greek goddess of the wind and sky. The book also deals with death and grief which I would handle in a sensitive way and teach older children about this in a PSHE lesson where they could support each other and understand it more.
Moreover, the book features different styles of writing and this would be the perfect opportunity to teach the children about these, for example writing inserts from Callum’s diary, writing a newspaper article about the village campaign raising lots of money for Jebena's operation, a bird fact file, a letter to Jebena in the hospital and creative writing about Iris’ journey in South Africa with the coordinates of her position at the time. Children would really enjoy writing in a variety of styles, learning about the audience, features and purpose for each one and using pages from the book as models for writing their own osprey adventures.
rybass08's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
annikamaria25's review
5.0
This book was a gift and it just stood around and I never read it until years later. As soon as I started I loved it and throughout my love only increased. Or I guess because it’s been quite a while since I‘ve read it.
afterwhat's review against another edition
4.0
Scottish osprey make a treacherous journey twice a year, all the way to Scotland to mate and lay eggs and tend their chicks, then back, across the Pyrenees mountains and the Sahara desert, to spend the winters in Africa. As if that weren't enough, people pay thousands of dollars for an osprey egg, so even when they've completely their journey safely, there's no guarantee that someone won't steal the eggs before they're able to hatch. So when Callum McGregor's classmate, Iona McNair, tells him that there are osprey making a nest on Callum's family's land, the two swear to keep it secret from everyone, and to do everything in their power to keep the osprey--who they've named Iris--and her chicks safe. When Iris is injured, a ranger on the nature preservation comes and saves her, and is even able to tag her before they release her back into the wild, so Callum and Iona can track her. Iona becomes ill before Iris leaves, and Callum, trying to keep his promise to her, checks in on Iris almost obsessively. When Iris's signal vanishes entirely, in The Gambia, Callum even emails a bunch of people near her location to try to get them to search fro her. The contact he makes, with a Gambian girl his own age, will change both of their lives completely, and touch thousands more.
Wow, so, there's a lot going on in this book. When I think about it, it's seems like too much--to many threads, too much plot, but in the reading, I didn't even realize it. This is a beautiful book, with gorgeous art and a wonderful, touching story.
Wow, so, there's a lot going on in this book. When I think about it, it's seems like too much--to many threads, too much plot, but in the reading, I didn't even realize it. This is a beautiful book, with gorgeous art and a wonderful, touching story.
literacydocent's review against another edition
4.0
Touching story of friendship, loss, and perseverance. There were some aspects that I wished had been fleshed out a bit more but that didn't detracted from the overall story. Middle grade readers will enjoy it.