Skip to content
LuvemBooks
LuvemBooks

Who it's for. Who should skip it. What to read next.

David Almond, author portrait
Photo:Sara Jane Palmer·Public domain·
Commons

David Almond

British
Born 1951
David John Almond was born May 15, 1951 and is a British author who has written many novels for children and young adults from 1998, each one receiving critical acclaim.
On LuvemBooks, we've reviewed Skellig.
1
Books Reviewed
In order

David Almond books in order

31 books; 1 reviewed on LuvemBooks. Dates and covers from Amazon.

  1. My Name Is Mina cover
    1994
    My Name Is Mina
    Amazon ↗
  2. Kit's Wilderness cover
    1994
    Kit's Wilderness
    Amazon ↗
  3. Skellig cover
    1999
    Skellig
    Our review →
  4. Heaven Eyes cover
    2001
    Heaven Eyes
    Amazon ↗
  5. Counting Stars cover
    2001
    Counting Stars
    Amazon ↗
  6. Secret Heart cover
    2001
    Secret Heart
    Amazon ↗
  7. The Fire-Eaters cover
    2004
    The Fire-Eaters
    Amazon ↗
  8. Kate, the Cat and the Moon cover
    2005
    Kate, the Cat and the Moon
    Amazon ↗
  9. Clay cover
    2005
    Clay
    Amazon ↗
  10. The Savage cover
    2008
    The Savage
    Amazon ↗
  11. Raven Summer cover
    2009
    Raven Summer
    Amazon ↗
  12. The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon cover
    2010
    The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon
    Amazon ↗
  13. Mouse Bird Snake Wolf cover
    2013
    Mouse Bird Snake Wolf
    Amazon ↗
  14. The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas cover
    2013
    The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas
    Amazon ↗
  15. The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean cover
    2014
    The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean
    Amazon ↗
  16. The Tightrope Walkers cover
    2015
    The Tightrope Walkers
    Amazon ↗
  17. A Song for Ella Grey cover
    2015
    A Song for Ella Grey
    Amazon ↗
  18. Harry Miller's Run cover
    2017
    Harry Miller's Run
    Amazon ↗
  19. The Tale of Angelino Brown cover
    2018
    The Tale of Angelino Brown
    Amazon ↗
  20. The Dam cover
    2018
    The Dam
    Amazon ↗
  21. The Color of the Sun cover
    2019
    The Color of the Sun
    Amazon ↗
  22. War Is Over cover
    2019
    War Is Over
    Amazon ↗
  23. Brand New Boy cover
    2020
    Brand New Boy
    Amazon ↗
  24. Bone Music cover
    2021
    Bone Music
    Amazon ↗
  25. Annie Lumsden, the Girl from the Sea cover
    2021
    Annie Lumsden, the Girl from the Sea
    Amazon ↗
Cover of Skellig
Skellig

4.4/5

reader rating · 4,221 ratings

David Almond's Skellig is a Carnegie Medal–winning children's novel that blends the everyday anxieties of a ten-year-old boy with something altogether stranger — a decrepit, crotchety creature discovered in a crumbling garage — to produce one of the most celebrated works of British children's fiction of its era.

Reviewed Feb 9, 2026

Ask LuvemBooks about David Almond

David Almond is a British author whose work for children and young adults often explores the intersection of the magical and the mundane. In Skellig, he demonstrates his gift for grounding extraordinary events—a mysterious winged figure living in a garage—within the everyday struggles of a grieving boy, earning a 4.4/5 reader rating across thousands of reviews.
Where should I start?
Skellig is the ideal entry point to Almond's work. It introduces his distinctive blend of magic realism and emotional honesty, following a young boy who discovers a mysterious figure in his garage during a family crisis. With over 4,000 reader ratings averaging 4.4/5, it demonstrates why his work has resonated with readers worldwide.
What's their writing style?
Almond's prose is understated yet lyrical, grounding magical or mysterious elements within deeply realistic emotional landscapes. He writes with restraint—never explaining away the strange—and trusts readers to sit with wonder and uncertainty. His voice is introspective and contemplative, often exploring themes of loss, growth, and connection through a young protagonist's perspective.
Books we've reviewed
We have reviewed one of David Almond's novels on LuvemBooks. Skellig is a magic-realist novel about a boy who discovers something extraordinary in his garage during a time of family upheaval.
What genre does he write?
Almond writes primarily in the magical realism and literary fiction genres, blending the fantastical with deeply grounded contemporary settings. His work is often categorized as children's and young adult literature, but it transcends easy genre boundaries through its emotional sophistication and literary craftsmanship.
What should I read after Skellig?
After Skellig, readers typically move to Kit's Wilderness, which similarly explores themes of connection and mystery through a young protagonist in a northern English landscape. Both novels share Almond's introspective tone and focus on how the extraordinary emerges from ordinary lives during times of transition.
Who is David Almond?

Who is David Almond?

David Almond is a British author born in 1951 who has been writing novels for children and young adults since 1998, consistently receiving critical acclaim. He is known for blending realism with elements of wonder, creating stories that speak to young readers navigating difficult transitions. His work often features ordinary settings transformed by extraordinary circumstances.

Follow up

What age group does he write for?
Has he won any major awards?

Synthesized from verified book data & published reviews · How we review

​

Press Enter to ask. Answers come from our editorial Q&A — start typing to see related questions.

Authors Like David Almond
Katherine Paterson

Katherine Paterson

Fantasy
Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia explores childhood imagination colliding with real-world grief, matching David Almond's unflinching emotional honesty and quiet devastation.
1 book reviewed
Bridge to Terabithia
Katherine Rundell

Katherine Rundell

Fantasy
Katherine Rundell's Impossible Creatures shares Almond's focus on children protecting extraordinary beings discovered in secret, treating wonder and fear as serious, necessary things.
1 book reviewed
Impossible Creatures
Frances Hodgson Burnett

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden shares David Almond’s focus on children finding healing and transformative power in hidden, neglected spaces away from adults.
1 book reviewed
The Secret Garden
R. J. Palacio

R. J. Palacio

R. J. Palacio's Wonder shares Almond's empathy-first middle-grade focus, bringing a plot-driven narrative with explicit resolution.
2 books reviewed
Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories
Wonder
P

Philippa Pearce

Philippa Pearce's Tom's Midnight Garden shares David Almond's patient, lyrical tone, rewarding thoughtful readers with a lonely child discovering a mysterious world that shouldn't exist.
1 book reviewed
Tom's Midnight Garden
Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl

Fantasy
Roald Dahl's The BFG shares David Almond's focus on a lonely child discovering a mysterious creature, offering a tender cross-species friendship with real emotional stakes.
1 book reviewed
The BFG