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Through the Skylight
By Barbara Schultz,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Suspenseful time-travel tale explores rich culture, history.
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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: Ian Baucom
- Illustrator: Justin Gerard
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Adventures , Brothers and Sisters , 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, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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