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Age Guideline 7-11, 11-13
About the Event
Join multi-award-winning author David Almond and acclaimed artist & illustrator Tom de Freston as they celebrate 25 years of Skellig and chat to Janet Smyth about the power of imagination and creating the special illustrated edition of this classic book.
Skellig is a moving story about love, loss and hope set in the North East. This ‘exquisite book’ (Telegraph) follows Michael, a young boy whose move to a new house and baby sister’s illness leave him lonely and uncertain. One Sunday afternoon, he stumbles into the ramshackle garage of his new home, and finds something magical. A strange creature – human? beast? bird? angel? – a being who needs Michael’s help if he is to survive. With his new friend Mina, Michael nourishes Skellig back to health. But Skellig is far more than he at first appears, and as he helps Michael breathe life into his tiny sister, Michael’s world changes forever…
Buy the Book here:
About the Author & Illustrator
David Almond is the author of Skellig, My Name is Mina, Island, Bone Music and many other novels, stories, picture books, opera librettos, songs and plays. His work is translated into 40 languages, and is widely adapted for stage and screen. His major awards include the Carnegie Medal, two Whitbread Awards, the Eleanor Farjeon Award, the Michael L Printz Award (USA), Le Prix Sorcières (France), the Nonino International Prize, the James Kruss Prize and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. He has also won the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the world's most prestigious prize for children's authors. In 2021, David was awarded an OBE for services to literature.
David speaks at festivals and conferences around the world. He is Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. He is widely regarded as one of the most exciting, inspirational and innovative children's authors writing today.
Twitter: @davidjalmond
Instagram: @davidjohnalmond
Tom de Freston has worked as an acclaimed artist for many years, and made his illustrative debut with his collaboration with Kiran Millwood Hargrave on Julia and the Shark, followed by Leila and the Blue Fox. He constructs multimedia worlds, combining paintings, film and performance into immersive visceral narratives. He lives in Oxford, in a house between a river and a forest.
Instagram: tomdefrestonart
Teaching Resources
Link to Teaching Rescorces here.
About the Festival Partner
This event has been programmed by Bath Children’s Literature Festival
Bath Festivals is a charity that brings you the Bath Children’s Literature Festival, Europe’s largest dedicated children’s literature festival with a vibrant array of talks and activities for children. They are also responsible for The Bath Festival in the summer which bring the city alive with a celebration of music and books in the beautiful venues and spaces of the world heritage city. By creating innovative and diverse programmes, their festivals inspire and provide unique experiences for residents and visitors to Bath and surrounding areas. Their year-round creative learning programme of hands-on music and literature projects gives children and young people opportunities to gain real-world experience, building their inner confidence and improving communication skills through the arts.