Skellig
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Skellig is a children's book by David Almond, for which Almond was given the Carnegie medal in 1998 and also the Whitbread children's Book Of The Year.
In the book, a young boy named Michael finds a mysterious man-like creature living in his garage. In the midst of a turbulent life (moving house, having a sick baby sister, losing old friends, finding new ones) Michael becomes increasingly obsessed and upset by the fate of this creature.With the help of a new friend, Mina, interesting to the young reader as she is home schooled, they move the creature to a place of safety and discover that he has wings.
The book is deliberately ambiguous about the nature of the creature. Although the obvious implication is that he is some kind of angel, his general demeanour and attitude is in direct contrast to traditional ideas about angels, leading the reader to consider ideas around religious imagery and the role of mystery in life.
The names Skellig and Michael are probably connected with the place Skellig Michael in County Kerry, Ireland.
The book has received considerable attention from the teaching profession because of the introduction of these deep themes and the fact that Mina introduces Micheal to the works of William Blake. Many of his works are referenced in the novel allowing young readers to broaden their horizons considerably.