I just finished “Skellig”, which may be one of the
most wonderful books I have ever read, right up there with “The Little Prince”
and “Great Expectations”. I remember hearing about the book a long time ago and
for some reason letting it slip away – probably because it was a kid’s book. On
the cover of the 10th anniversary edition, there’s a round silver
sticker that indicates it won the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence In
Young Adult Literature, but I know now that no one should let that little bit
of advertising mislead them. This is a book for everyone.
In fact, there’s a moment where the story warns
against such labels. Michael, the main character, has a really cool and caring friend
named Mina who teaches him many things and, unlike Michael, she’s homeschooled
and more in touch with the world around her, more in tune with its mysteries
and lessons. She takes a look at one of Michael’s schoolbooks and flips though
it skeptically.
“Yeah,
looks good,” she said. “But what’s the red sticker for?”
“It’s
for confident readers,” I said. “It’s to do with reading age.”
“And
what if other readers wanted to read it?”…And where would William Blake fit
in?” said Mina. “Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright/In the forests of the night.’ Is
that for the best readers or the worst readers? Does that need a good reading
age?... And if it was for the worst readers would the best readers not bother
with it because it was too stupid for them?”
At one time, maybe Disney was capable of something
as great as “Skellig”, but I think it’s too much of a factory now, with all the
stations assembling parts that fit a demographic – or what a demographic is
thought to be capable of, anyway. But what an amazing appeal this is that appeals
to everyone. What an amazing reach.
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