SKELLIG

- READING GUIDE

FOR 3º

ESO F
INDEX
When you finish reading each chapter, think of a good title for it that describes shortly what happens.

Chapter 1-
Chapter 2-
Chapter 3-
Chapter 4-
Chapter 5-
Chapter 6-
Chapter 7-
Chapter 8-
Chapter 9-
Chapter 10-
Chapter 11-
Chapter 12-
Chapter 13-
Chapter 14-
Chapter 15-
Chapter 16-
Chapter 17-
Chapter 18-
Chapter 19-
Chapter 20-
Chapter 21-
Chapter 22-
Chapter 23-
Chapter 24-
Chapter 25-
Chapter 26-
Chapter 27-
Chapter 28-
Chapter 29-
Chapter 30-
Chapter 31-
Chapter 32-
Chapter 33-
Chapter 34-
Chapter 35-
Chapter 36-
Chapter 37-
Chapter 38-
Chapter 39-
Chapter 40-
Chapter 41-
Chapter 42-
Chapter 43-
Chapter 44-
Chapter 45-
Chapter 46-
DRAMATIS PERSONAE

MAKE A LIST OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THE BOOK, DESCRIBE THEM
AND WRITE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THEM.

Character name Description / Thoughts

READING GUIDE

CHAPTER 1

• Vocabulary:
o Quay (N)
o To tug (V)
o Gloom (N)
o To grin (V)
o Plywood (N)

• Questions:
o Who is Doctor Death?

o Who is Mister Stone? Why does the narrator doesn’t like him?

o What is the meaning of the expression: “To see with your mind’s eye”?

CHAPTER 2
• Vocabulary:
o Plank (N)
o Timber (N)
o To sag (V)
o Heap (N)
o To scuttle (V)
o To lurch (V)

• Questions:
o Why the narrator doesn’t go into the garage?

o For what you have read in this chapter, how would you describe the relationship
between the narrator and his mother?

CHAPTER 3
• Vocabulary:
o Nettle (N)
o Thistle (N)
o Weed (N)
o To Shrug (V)

• Questions:
o Describe the garage using your own words.

o Read the following description of Skellig:

I thought he was dead. He was sitting with his legs stretched out, and his head tipped back
against the wall. He was covered in dust and webs like everything else and his face was thin
and pale. Dead bluebottles were scattered on his hair and shoulders. I shone the torch on
his white face and his black suit.

Explain why the highlighted adjectives help you imagine what he looks like.

CHAPTER 4
• Vocabulary:
o To drop off (V)
o To bawl (V)
o To coo (V)
o Cot (N)

• Question:
o Read the following description of the baby:
I looked down at the baby. I slipped my hand under the covers and touched her. I could feel
her heart beating fast. I could feel the thin rattle of her breath, and her chest rising and
falling. I felt how hot it was in there, how soft her bones were, how tiny she was. there was
a dribble of spit and milk on her neck. I wondered if she was going to die. they’d been
scared
about that in the hospital. before they let her come home she’d been in a glass case with
tubes and wires sticking in her and we’d stood around staring in like she was in a fish tank.

How does this paragraph make the reader feel for the baby? Support your answer using
sentences from the paragraph.

CHAPTER 5
• Vocabulary:
o To Shove (V)
o Daft (Adj)
o Tackle (N)

• Question:
o The narrator says the following expression:
“I couldn’t be bothered with it all”.

Why does he say that?

CHAPTER 6
• Vocabulary:
o Hearth (N)
o Soot (N)

CHAPTER 7
• Vocabulary:
o To clog (V)
o Git (Adj)
• Questions:

o Read the following excerpt from the book:

His face was pale as dry plaster. His black suit hung like a sack on his thin bones

Explain what the author means when he uses these two similes:
▪ “As pale as dry plaster” 🡪

▪ “Hung like a sack” 🡪

o Make a prediction: What do you think that Skellig means when he says that he wants to
eat 27 and 53?

o What impression do you get from Mina? Why?

CHAPTER 8
• Vocabulary:
o To belt (V)
o To swig (V)
o Ample (Adj)

• Questions:
o So what are 27 and 53?
o What sentences in this chapter give the impression that Michael’s mum is worried
about him?

CHAPTER 9
• Vocabulary:
o To tip (V)
o Neverthless (Conj)

• Questions:
o What tag word does Mina keep using in this chapter? What does it say about her?

CHAPTER 10
• Vocabulary:
o Soggy (Adj)
o Sheens (N)
o To squat (V)
o Muck (N)

• Questions:
o Look on the internet who Arthur Itis is. Can you explain the joke?

o Predict what do you think is under the jacket of Skellig.

To describe a character effectively, writers also use similes to help the reader picture
the character. Read the following passage and see if you can spot the similes:
I put the tray down on the floor beside him and shone the torch on him. There were
hundreds of tiny creases and cracks all over his pale face. A few fine colourless hairs grew
on his chin. The red sauce below his lips was like congealed blood. When he opened his eyes
again, I saw the tiny red veins like a dark net across the whites of his eyes. There was a
smell of dust, old clothes, dry sweat.

Copy out the two similes, choose one of them and explain how it helps you imagine Skellig.

CHAPTER 11
• Vocabulary:
o Bollocks (N)
o Lass (N)

• Question:
o What do you think Rasputin’s mum thought shoulder blades are for?
CHAPTER 12
• Vocabulary:
o To thrive (V)
o Derelict (Adj)

• Question
o Describe using your own words and examples from the book how is the general mood of
the family in this chapter.

CHAPTER 13
• Vocabulary:
o To jut (V)
o Steeple (N)
o Dusk (N)

• Question:
o What is the meaning of the expression “Cross your heart and hope to die”? Who says it
in this chapter and why?

CHAPTER 14
• Vocabulary:
o Stem (N)
o Trowel (N)
o Blotch (N)
CHAPTER 15
• Vocabulary:
o To droop (V)
o To hoot (N)
o To muddle (V)

• Questions:
o Take a look at the question from chapter 11. Did you guess right? So what are shoulder
blades for according to Rasputin’s mum and Mina?

o In this chapter Mina and Michael talk about going to school vs. homeschooling. What is
your opinion on the matter? What are the pros and cons of each of them?

CHAPTER 16
• Vocabulary:
o Toot (Adj)
o Figment (N)
o Bloody (Adj)
o To mingle (Adj)

• Question:
o Can you explain how someone can laugh but not smile?

CHAPTER 17
• Vocabulary:
o To beckon (V)
o Mesh (N)
o Eerie (Adj)

• Question:
o What is Mina’s opinion on school? Do you agree with her?

CHAPTER 18
• Vocabulary:
o To squirm (V)
o To shrug (V)
o To be knackered (V)

• Question:
o What is your opinion on Doctor MacNabola? Explain your opinion using examples
from the book.

CHAPTER 19
• Vocabulary:
o Daub (N)
o To fixate (V)
o To slink (V)

• Question
o Who was William Blake? Search him on the internet and write a few lines about him.

CHAPTER 20
• Vocabulary:
o To clench (V)
o Cuff (N)

• Questions:
o Where do you think Mina wants to take Skellig?

o What would you do if you were in Mina and Michael’s place?

CHAPTER 21
• Vocabulary:
o Wilderness (N)

• Question:
o Mina took a “dark ball of congealed skin and bone” from the garage. What do you
think she wants to do with it? What do you think it is?

CHAPTER 22
• Vocabulary:
o To teeter (V)
o To totter (V)
o Hoarse (Adj)
• Question:
o Read the following excerpt:
Our fingers touched behind his back. We explored the growths upon his shoulder blades.
We felt them folded up like arms. We felt their soft coverings. We stared into each
other’s eyes and didn’t dare to tell each other what we thought we felt.

In this paragrph, the author describes two things without saying their names, to build up
mystery and tension. What two things Mina and Michael didn’t dare to tell each other?

o Can you do the same with another word?

CHAPTER 23
• Vocabulary
o Biro (N)
o To Beckon (V)
o To get at someone (Expression)
• Question:
o This is the first time the name Skellig appears in the book. Why do you think Mina
(and thus the author) gives him that name? Read the following before you answer

Skellig Michael

“An incredible, impossible, mad place. I tell you the thing does not belong to any world that you and I have
lived and worked in; it is part of our dream world."

George Bernard Shaw

Skellig Michael is a spectacular pinnacle of
rock eight miles out in the ocean, off
County Kerry in south-west Ireland. It is
dedicated to the Archangel, Michael.

There is an authentic, 1,400 year old,

stairway to heaven. Approximately
500 stone steps, put in place by the
original
monks who built the monastery, lead to a
narrow crest between the two peaks
known as 'Christ's Saddle.'

The second and highest of the two peaks

on Skellig Michael, 714 feet above sea
level. There's a prehistoric 'standing
stone' on
top, with incised Celtic Cross. Medieval
pilgrims, after visiting the monastery,
would climb to the top and kiss the rock,
thus proving their piety!

Half book reflection

We have now read half of the book and before we continue I would love to hear your opinion on
the book.
Write a short essay commenting on the following points:
- What do you think of the characters? Mainly Michael, Mina and Skellig. -
What do you think of the story so far?
- How do you think the story will continue?
- What is your opinion on the style and mood of the book?
- Would you change anything so far?
- Is the vocabulary too hard for you?
- Would you recommend it?
When we finish reading the book, we will look back at this essay and see if you have changed the
way you think about it.