He and his parents are nervous, as his new baby sister (who they have not named yet) was born earlier than expected and may not live because of a heart condition, and because they have to start over in a new home.

When Michael goes into the garage, he finds a strange emaciated man hidden amid all the boxes, debris and dead insects.

He subsequently moves from the garage after saying goodbye to Michael and Mina, answering their questions about his nature by saying that he is 'something' combining aspects of human, owl and angel.

Almond has acknowledged the influence of "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings", a short story by Gabriel García Márquez.

Paul Latham compares the works in a research article, "Magical Realism and the Child Reader: The Case of David Almond's Skellig".

Despite many similarities, he notes that Almond's child protagonists are much more caring and accepting than the closed-minded and sometimes cruel adults in the García Márquez story.

Thus the negative social commentary in Skellig, regarding medical institutions and other aspects of adult society, is not as harsh as in Márquez's story.

According to the summary, "Creative, intelligent, nine-year-old Mina keeps a journal in her own disorderly way that reveals how her mind is growing into something extraordinary, especially after she begins homeschooling under the direction of her widowed mother.

[12] Cast included in alphabetical order; Ashley Artus, Noma Dumezweni, Akiya Henry, David Threlfall, Kevin Wathen, Mo Zinal.

[14][15] Skellig has been adapted into a contemporary opera with music by American composer Tod Machover and libretto by David Almond himself.

[16] The Opera starred Omar Ebrahim as Skellig with Sophie Daneman and Paul Keohone as Michael's parents.