Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Schultz
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Suspenseful time-travel tale explores rich culture, history.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
While living temporarily in Venice with their parents, siblings Jared, Shireen, and Miranda visit a bookshop, where they are given three \"treasures\" with magical powers, and an old book that holds secrets to the adventures that the treasures will unlock. The kids have to learn quickly how to control their newfound powers, because it turns out they have a mission -- to fight evil forces unleashed centuries ago.
Is It Any Good?
THROUGH THE SKYLIGHT is a suspenseful adventure story full of culturally and historically rich detail. Without being too heavy-handed, the book also addresses ideas of prejudice vs. commonality between people from different faiths, nationalities, and even time periods. This is a very complicated fantasy book, however, where new plot twists, rules, and obstacles are being added up to the every end, to the point where the plot can seem awkward and difficult to follow.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Through the Skylight blends fantasy and history. Can you think of some other books you've read that do this?
What similarities are there between the modern kids and the ones from the Middle Ages? What do the kids from these different times learn from each other?
Miranda writes a story she hopes her family will add to. Try playing this game with friends or family: Write the beginning of a story and let someone else continue ...
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Justin Gerard
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , History
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Atheneum
- Publication date : March 19, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 9 - 13
- Number of pages : 400
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate