Powerful, evocative writing about landscape and the natural world, and delicately drawn characters existing within the complex nexus of human relationships in a small village are sensitively combined in this absorbing, very moving novel. - BookTrust Gill Lewis' beautifully understated writing gently sweeps her reader along and the story, itself, quietly and lyrically conveys her moving and timely message of the interconnectedness of people with nature and people with people - whether within one village or across the earth. This is a beautiful book which will have resonance for many readers beyond its target readership. 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)

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.An edge-of-your-seat wildlife adventure that tells a very human story of friendship, discovery and an incredible journey. I loved it! - 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. 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. 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.

The film based on the original book ‘A Kestrel for a Knave’ by Barry Hines (aimed at 12+ readers). A new film version shortly to be released in autumn 2011. 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.

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Powerful, evocative writing about landscape and the natural world, and delicately drawn characters existing within the complex nexus of human relationships in a small village are sensitively combined in this absorbing, very moving novel. 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. 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.

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. Nizrana Farook – ‘A story of love, survival, loyalty and lifelong bonds. It tugged at my heart and made me sob, it made me yearn with Pup for the love he so desperately sought… It’s a book that everybody should read – it’s man’s best friend in a whole new light.’ In dealing with his grief, Callum has to re-evaluate his friendships and let others share his secret, while in mourning Iona’s death, the villagers are also confronted with their attitudes to others. 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. 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.I loved Sky Hawk - it's a tremendously assured debut novel and it reminded me very much of the books Michael Morpurgo writes. It feels fresh and natural and spontaneous and I really felt as though I'd got inside Callum's skin. It's a lovely story told through landscape and it does a great job of showing the interconnectedness of the natural world. Iris the osprey divides her time between Scotland and Africa and her journeys unite two very different children from very different communities on very different continents. And yet the ties that unite them are much stronger than all those differences. 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 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. 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.